Is Smith England's next number three?

Jamie Smith scored his fourth Test fifty to help England recover from 118-6

Jamie Smith is fast becoming England’s man for a crisis.

The wicketkeeper’s six-laden 89 reversed the momentum on the first day of the deciding Test against Pakistan in Rawalpindi.

At 118-6, England were in danger of being overwhelmed by the pitch, patio heaters and Sajid Khan’s moustache. The tourists had played some bang average shots.

Smith’s knock, with a bit of help from his Surrey mucker Gus Atkinson, got England to a competitive 267. Pakistan stumbled to 73-3 at the close, leaving the visitors favourites to win the series.

At the age of 24 and with just nine caps to his name, Smith is developing the knack of making runs when England need them most.

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 (as well as an important 39 in a tight chase in the same match) and 69 from 82-7 against the Lankans at The Oval.

"I don’t mind those situations because there’s not too much to lose and everything to gain," said Smith. "You're not thinking about the game situation, you're thinking about how you can impose your skills and hopefully it comes off."

This latest rescue act may be the most important knock in Smith’s short career. It is all the more impressive given the last match, England’s defeat in the second Test in Multan, was his worst with the Three Lions on his chest.

A struggle with the bat – he made 21 and six – was in step with the rest of the England team, but the drop of a simple chance off Brydon Carse on the third afternoon was perhaps their last hope of getting into the game.

Smith probably won’t drop an easier one in his time as a Test cricketer, the miss made worse by Joe Root putting down another catch in the same over. Ben Stokes let out his frustration on the field, a rarity for the England skipper, who later apologised to the team in the dressing room.

"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.

"There will definitely be times where that will happen again, but it's dusting yourself off and coming again to the next game with a smile on your face, looking to enjoy playing and trying to influence results."

Short of catching bullets in his teeth, there is very little Smith can do to persuade those who believe Ben Foakes should still be in the England team as the best pure gloveman in the country.

As the second-choice keeper to Foakes at Surrey, Smith will be all too aware of the difference in their respective abilities.

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.

England found themselves in a similar situation against India in Ranchi earlier this year, in need of runs, with their wicketkeeper only afforded the lower-order for company. India dropped the field and Foakes was powerless to penetrate it.

In contrast, Smith was able to move through the gears against Pakistan. He was beaten in England’s six-hitting competition in Wednesday’s training session, even though he landed the biggest blow of anyone in the squad. On Thursday there was no doubt over the identity of the maximum man, as Smith plonked half a dozen over the rope.

"It was more luck than judgement, because on another day some of them are out," he said. "That’s how I like to play my cricket, I’ll take it on regardless of the field. If I feel that’s the best option, I’ll be taking it."

Smith averages more than 45 with the bat in his nine Tests

If Smith is growing into his role in the England side, Ollie Pope appears to be shrinking.

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.

England have invested a huge amount in Pope, promoting him to number three and vice-captain. He is a thorough team man, as shown in the first Test against Pakistan, when he stepped up to open in place of the injured Ben Duckett despite more than two days in the field deputising as captain for Stokes. He was rewarded with a duck.

"Ollie Pope is in a really curious place," former England pace bowler Steven Finn told the Test Match Special podcast.

"His hundreds have been fantastic, but when you look at the great number threes for England they have that calming presence when they walk to the crease.

"Clearly England like and back Pope but is he batting out of position at number three? Probably."

Pope can be a match-winner for England, as shown by his epic 196 against India in Hyderabad earlier this year. He will get more chances on the tour of New Zealand, yet that is where danger to his place also lies.

Smith will miss some or all of the series for the birth of his first child, leaving the uncapped Jordan Cox to cover.

If Cox makes a compelling case to remain in the team, like Harry Brook did when Jonny Bairstow got injured, might Pope be squeezed out? Smith, with his solid technique and unflappable temperament, could be England’s long-term answer at number three, leaving the gloves with Cox in the process.

Finn has an alternative solution. "If Pope were to be dropped, asking Root to go up to number three might be the solution to leave Brook at four, Smith at five and Stokes at six," he said.

Root, England’s greatest run-scorer, is best-qualified for job, but the ship may have sailed. Re-opening the Joe-Root-to-number-three debate is like asking if Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard can play in the same midfield together.

Smith has taken the England place of one Surrey team-mate in Foakes. Is Pope next?