Jamie Smith is proving to be England's man for a crisis, while Ollie Pope is struggling to avoid a crisis of his own, writes Stephan Shemilt.
The wicketkeeper’s six-laden 89 reversed the momentum on the first day of the deciding Test against Pakistan in Rawalpindi.
This was his fifth score in excess of 50 and three of the other four have also come from perilous positions: 95 from 169-6 against West Indies at Edgbaston, 111 from 125-4 against Sri Lanka at Old Trafford and 69 from 82-7 against the Lankans at The Oval. "You move on to another game," said Smith. "I didn't score the runs I would have liked and dropped a catch which could have proven crucial, but those things happen in sport.
Smith is hardly a stopper to whom England have attached a pair of gloves. He has come through the ranks as a keeper. Most importantly, he was chosen for innings like Rawalpindi, the kind of knock Foakes is not suited to play. Out sweeping Sajid for three, he has not passed 29 in the series. This latest failure worsened a curious statistic and unwanted record. Of all players in Test history to score three hundreds in a calendar year, like Pope has in 2024, no-one has a worse average in the same 12-month period. It is feast or famine.
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