Test cricket can be pretty absurd at times. Take the example of Jamie Smith, who on the second day at Edgbaston had a beer-soaked capacity crowd eating out of the palm of his hand with an innings of high quality, only to trudge off the field five runs short of a maiden Test century and thus look utterly crestfallen in the moment.
Smith looks too promising not to get there one day; so promising, in fact, it feels close to a given. But such thoughts were far from the 24-year-old’s mind when, at 5.10pm, he was mugged by a canny slower ball bouncer from Shamar Joseph and heard the clatter of stumps behind him. As he left the stage amid warm, sympathetic applause, no amount of back slaps in the England dressing room were going to make up for it.
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Consolation was instead to be found from the match situation which, by stumps, had swung firmly in England’s favour. Powered by Smith’s stellar 95 from 109 balls, and a typically silken 87 from Joe Root that featured his 12,000th Test run, the hosts had turned a troubling 54 for five first thing into 376 all out and a lead of 94 runs. And in the final hour overs they struck twice to leave the tourists teetering on 33 for two.
It was pretty fitting that Chris Woakes should kickstart this surge in late sunshine when, with the final delivery of his opening over, he pinged Kraigg Brathwaite’s off stump with a beauty. Woakes had earlier been one half of a pivotal stand of 109 alongside Smith; the yin to his wicketkeeper’s yang with a typically steadfast 62 from No 9 that saw him wave the bat to his young family in the stands. After the death of his father earlier this year, this was an emotional moment for a much-loved local favourite.
Gus Atkinson is fast becoming a darling himself, having sprinkled some fairy-dust at the back end of England’s innings with a couple of biffed sixes and then put an end to Kirk McKenzie’s sorry series with the bat. McKenzie was Atkinson’s 21st wicket in his debut series but also a first with the new ball, the left-hander wafting at a slippery delivery outside off and Smith comfortably pouching the edge. Mikyle Louis and Alick Athanaze clung on at the end but a three-day finish and a 3-0 scoreline looks on the cards here.
All of this was pretty tough to stomach for West Indies, not least given their start to the morning session. After three quickfire strikes the night before, the tourists positively flew out of the traps. Ollie Pope chopped Joseph on to his stumps, while Harry Brook became the second Englishman to suffer a lapse in the channel outside off when he tamely tickled Jayden Seales behind for two. England, five down and still 228 runs in arrears, were unquestionably in a bit of strife here.
But just as the wickets column was slightly deceptive from an English perspective after the failed deployment of Mark Wood as a nightwatchman, West Indies could also point to a degree of distortion after a chance to remove Root for just three went begging. Seales had pinned him in front with his fourth ball of the day and after the umpire Nitin Menon shook his head, Brathwaite opted not to review. Had he done so, three reds on Hawkeye would have followed, with the ball predicted to hit leg stump flush.
It was a sliding doors moment and one that grew increasingly significant as Root set about relaying the foundations for his side and moved to seventh in the all-time Test run-scorers list, leapfrogging Brian Lara this time. First came a stand of 115 with Ben Stokes in which the England captain made a crisp 54. Stokes looked on for more here, slotting a selection of glorious straight drives like potting balls at the Crucible and also sending spinner Gudakesh Motie into the Hollies Stand with one mighty six.
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Stokes falling to Alzarri Joseph after lunch amid a sustained short-ball plan brought the arrival of Smith and what was the innings of the day. Much like that glossy 70 on debut at Lord’s, the attributes that caught England’s eye at the start of the summer were on show. The difference was the match situation, Smith utterly unfazed by the 113-run deficit and forcing a change of ball early on when he monstered Alzarri Joseph over the Hollies Stand for six. Root’s jaw was practically on the floor at the other end.
Perhaps it was another reminder to Root that there is no point trying to keep up with the new breed. Although it is not just the power that sets Smith apart and makes him an upgrade on Ben Foakes. Standing 6ft 2in and boasting a high back lift that also sees his backside stick out, Smith plays handsomely along the grass. He plays the whip through midwicket with authority and possesses a pretty succulent punched drive too.
England were not out of the woods when Root’s concentration finally broke and he was trapped lbw by a straight ball from Motie. At 231 for seven, the hosts were still 51 runs behind and a further clatter of wickets would have blown the match wide open. Few know Edgbaston’s dimensions better than Woakes, however, with the all-rounder calmly riding out of a barrage of short stuff – his supposed weakness – and guiding seven deft fours to the rope. His return this summer has been a shrewd one.
It made for a lively time either side of the tea break, the boozy crowd increasingly vocal as the totaliser grew and enjoying some good natured fun with Louis on the boundary’s edge. The only pin-drop moment came when Smith fell but, given the way he played, the wait to savour three figures in Test cricket feels unlikely to be a long one.
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