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In Rawalpindi, an England middle order that had combined for almost 25,000 Test runs only managed 25. After dismissing all four of Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, and Ben Stokes in just over a session, the cheeky, moustachioed Sajid Khan celebrated by slapping his thigh and waving to the sky. Soon after, he had his sights set on England’s rookie No. 7.
For an England player, home series against Sri Lanka and the West Indies are about as soft an introduction to Test cricket as they get, but Jamie Smith was now in the thick of things. England was at risk of losing the significant lead they had acquired at 118 for 6 on a pitch designed especially to accommodate Pakistan’s spinners.
Rather, Smith chose the right time to execute a spectacular takedown of Sajid, showcasing his ability to move with ease through the gears that first led to his promotion. He hit Sajid for five fours and four sixes in an attack that validated his unique blend of skill and temperament, but he defended resolutely against Noman Ali, the left-arm spinner who removed him twice in the second Test.
During their middle-order collapse, England were uneasy due to the pitch’s steep turn and numerous balls that flew through low. It needed Smith’s cool head to realise that playing straight, especially early in his innings, was rewarded by the gradual turn after they made an unsuccessful attempt to sweep their way out of difficulties.
After gradually establishing a partnership with his Surrey teammate Gus Atkinson, he scored nine runs off his first thirty-two balls before realising his opportunity to put pressure on Sajid. Despite Saim Ayub’s athletic attempt to deflect the ball back into play, he hopped down the pitch twice in quick succession and dragged him over midwicket, first along the ground and then clearing the rope.
This was Smith’s opportunity. “I felt like he changed his plans a little bit, and started going slightly wider,” he said. “It felt quite samey with him going at one end and the left-arm spinner from the other. We thought, ‘How can we try to change the momentum of the game, and maybe dictate terms a little bit going into the back-end of the innings?'”
Despite receiving occasional glares from an enraged Sajid, Smith’s leg-side pick-ups and slog-sweeps ultimately compelled Shan Masood to switch bowlers. England’s batsmen were in the running for the first time since they amassed 823 in the opening Test match; they had firmly taken back the lead when the seventh-wicket stand reached 100.
Soon after Atkinson’s fall, Smith increased the pressure even more by using his feet to hit two consecutive sixes in three balls off of Zahid Mahmood’s legspin. When he miscued a slog-sweep straight up in the air, falling for 89, he had to drag himself off, but his innings had altered not only the day but possibly the series.
Even though Smith played well during England’s domestic summer, playing abroad is a whole other story. With England’s presidential-level security keeping them confined to their hotels outside of practice and competition, Ben Stokes referred to this tour as ‘Groundhog Day’ to highlight the intensity of the surroundings in addition to the unfamiliar circumstances.
Smith will be included in the England team’s tour of New Zealand at the conclusion of this series, but he will miss at least one Test match and maybe all three because of paternity leave, as his partner is due in mid-December. Despite the fact that he has not yet made a “firm decision” regarding the number of games he will miss, it is obvious that England will miss him.