|
Young prodigy Jamie Smith became just the third England wicketkeeper to hammer 400 runs in a Test series, joining former stars Alec Stewart and Les James after dazzling on the second day of the third game against India at Lord's on Friday.
Smith entertained the crowd with his belligerent approach and hammered 51 runs in 56 deliveries in the first session of the second day of an enticing Test. He survived an early scare after KL Rahul dropped him on five at the second slip. He made the most of his second life and added 47 runs to power England to 387. After his explosive performance came to an end, the 23-year-old 's tally soared to 407 runs, making him the third wicketkeeper batter to achieve the feat. He joined an exclusive club featuring Stewart, who is at the top after enjoying a 405-run series against South Africa in 1998 and James, who struck 417 runs against the West Indies in 1930. Smith also levelled South Africa's Quinton de Kock's record of 1000 runs in the fewest innings of a Test match by a wicketkeeper. He added another feather to his cap in 21 innings, becoming the joint-highest with De Kock, who retired from the longest format back in December 2021. Sri Lanka's Dinesh Chandimal and England batter Jonny Bairstow are joint second in this list with 22 innings behind Smith and De Kock. Sri Lanka's legendary batter Kumar Sangakkara and former South Africa captain AB de Villiers are joint third in the list with 23 innings, and former West Indies wicketkeeper-batter Jeff Dujon is fourth with 24 innings. His time at the crease came to an end after Mohammed Siraj forced an outside edge, which flew straight to the substitute wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel behind the stumps in the early moments of the second session. Smith's classic strokeplay impressed former England captain Nasser Hussain, who said on Sky Sports, "Carse is a very good player and Smith is in the form of his life. England's tempo has been spot on. That is why I like Smith with the lower order, he gets it just right. He is a serious player and is going to be a serious player for a long time." (ANI)
|
