Young star who changed English cricket: Smith proved his class in opening position

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Jamie Smith became a hero of English cricket after his electrifying performance at The Oval proved that the coaching staff's unorthodox decisions make sense. The 24-year-old Surrey player transformed disappointment from the previous match in Cardiff into a brilliant 64 runs from just 28 balls, securing England's decisive series victory.

Tuesday began with complications for the English team in London traffic, forcing players to arrive at the stadium on electric bikes. Ironically, it was Smith's electrifying performance that ultimately ensured the team's smooth path to a seven-wicket victory and complete series domination.

"I wanted to stand up and show that I'm good enough to open the batting," Smith declared after the match, expressing his determination to prove his worth in the new position to skeptics.

Bold decision with logical foundation

At first glance, the decision to deploy Smith as an opening batsman appears as another unconventional move from the Brendon McCullum era of English cricket. Just like calling up Shoaib Bashir to the Test team after only six first-class matches, this move also looked like a risky experiment.

In reality, however, Smith represented a logical choice. Although Will Jacks or Tom Banton appeared as naturally favored candidates, Smith had one crucial advantage - he is a product of Bazball philosophy and McCullum's favorite.

The story of Smith's rise in English cricket is remarkable for its speed. While Ben Foakes made virtually no mistakes in India in 2024, Smith had already taken his place by the next Test match. After a debut with 70 runs and 95 runs in his third Test, enthusiastic reviews began forming around the young player.

McCullum's vision and Smith's potential

When McCullum took over the white-ball team leadership last September, it was no coincidence that Smith was immediately recalled to the squad. Captain Harry Brook revealed before the series that McCullum was considering the possibility of deploying Smith as an opening batsman for the upcoming Champions Trophy in Pakistan.

"Baz and I think Smudge could be an incredible white-ball opening batsman," Brook explained before the series began. His enthusiasm for the type of player Smith represents is evident from repeated statements about needing batsmen who can "put the best balls under pressure."

Smith fulfilled this requirement perfectly. In the third ODI at The Oval, he received nine balls at "good length" under lights at his home stadium and scored 20 runs from them with a strike rate over 200. For comparison, other batsmen in the match managed only 56 runs from 71 similar deliveries.

Technical perfection with modern approach

Smith's fascination with English cricket stems from his versatility. On the same pitch against Sri Lanka last year, he first cautiously collected 15 runs from the first 31 balls in a Test, then exploded with 52 runs from the next 18 deliveries.

"He's not a slogger, is he? He's playing proper shots," Brook commented succinctly on Smith's style. The young player combines technically solid defense with ease when playing through covers, but can also pick the ball off a length and send it over mid-wicket, as he showed on Tuesday.

England also realizes the importance of quality opening partnership for successful rebirth after the problematic final eighteen months of Jos Buttler's captaincy. Eoin Morgan's World Cup-winning team had Buttler's fireworks, match-winning Ben Stokes, and Joe Root's calmness, but none of that would have been possible without the solid foundations built by Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow.

Smith together with Ben Duckett attacks the white ball as if they were playing a different sport. Technically speaking, Duckett's average interception point against fast bowlers is around 1.77 meters, which is 33 centimeters behind Smith's. While right-hander Smith targets boundaries in front of him, left-hander Duckett has scored only 18 percent of his career runs against fast bowlers in the "V" area.

In McCullum, Smith has a coach who opened 107 times in ODIs and led New Zealand to a World Cup final. Nevertheless, Smith is largely left to create his own plans during his first week in the new role.

"He knows how to bat," Brook said simply. "He's proven it in Test cricket. He has a good chance to succeed at the top of one-day cricket and I think everyone is excited to see how he performs."

Brook knows that tougher times will come, but Smith will get every opportunity to lead England on their journey forward.