England’s wicketkeeper-batter Jamie Smith has voiced that he is open to moving up the batting order in their upcoming Test series against Sri Lanka. Smith had previously described his first three weeks in Test cricket during the West Indies series as ‘mentally draining’. He is now open to shuffling up his batting order in the squad to number 6 against Sri Lanka, which starts on August 21.
Speaking about the potential change, he told ESPNcricinfo, “It won’t bother me at all.” The primary reason behind this shuffle is Ben Stokes’ absence due to injury. The England Test skipper reportedly suffered a tear in his left hamstring during The Hundred, ruling him out for the remainder of the English summer.
Speaking further, Jamie talked about how he has always been a consistent performer with the bat despite playing in different positions. “One of the things that’s been great in my career so far is that I feel like I’ve batted in a variety of different positions and roles anyway, and I’ve gained some of these experiences. They might be at a lesser level in the County Championship, but I still feel like I’ve been able to adapt and get some experience under my belt,” he said. Explaining how his previous role wasn’t quite different from the current one, Smith added, “The difference between No. 7 and No. 6 isn’t a massively great one anyway.”
Smith has primarily filled the fourth position in the championship over the past two seasons as a specialist batter. He made his international debut last year in September during a white-ball series against Ireland.
Recognising Smith’s talent, England now sees him as an all-format player in the long term. He was particularly impressive during the team’s recent 3-0 clean sweep of the West Indies.
In that series, Smith added 70 from number seven during his debut at Lord’s. He added another 95 from number eight at Edgbaston. If England add a seamer in place of Ben Stokes, Smith could likely be promoted to the sixth position.
England have decided against naming a replacement for Test skipper Ben Stokes for the upcoming Sri Lanka series. It was revealed that Ollie Pope would be leading the side in the absence of their skipper. The Englishmen recently moved up to sixth place in the World Test Championship standings with a triumph over the West Indies. They will now be looking to keep that momentum going against Sri Lanka next. The opening Test match between the two sides will be played at the Old Trafford Cricket Ground next week.
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