Why Smith could become England's greatest keeper-batter

Jamie Smith was the 17-year-old tipped for international honours by England legend Alec Stewart.

He has packed more into the past 12 months than most have managed in the seven years since.

Next week's third Test at Lord's will mark the first anniversary of Smith's Test debut on the same ground.

Since then he has been out in the nineties in his third Test, made his maiden hundred in his fourth, missed a tour of New Zealand to become a father for the first time, struggled at his first international tournament and been made an opener – a position he had never held in professional cricket – in England's white-ball teams.

On day three of the second Test at Edgbaston came the moment to top all of those others, on the field at least.

The 24-year-old crashed 184 not out against India, registering the highest score made by an England wicketkeeper in a men's Test to take the record from the man who tipped him for the top, Stewart.

Much was made of how harsh it was for England to drop Ben Foakes, the world's best gloveman and an able batter, in favour of Smith at the start of last summer.

Little thought was given to how challenging it must have been for Smith to not only replace the man he sat next to in the Surrey dressing room but also impose himself and be the aggressive number seven England craved.

This innings at Edgbaston was England's wish in perfect technicolour.

Smith emerged after Joe Root and Ben Stokes had been dismissed by consecutive deliveries. He drove his first delivery for four before he set about flaying India's bowling to all corners of this ground in an epic partnership of 303 with Harry Brook.

Smith flogged anything short and creamed drives whenever the ball was full.

When Prasidh Krishna's bouncer ploy was pumped for 23 runs in one over, Stokes was applauding high above his head in the dressing room.

Smith was out hooking in Leeds last week but, as the Brendon McCullum mantra goes, here he 'walked towards the danger'.

While Smith hit four sixes against India and has previously cleared the Hollies and Lord's Father Time with towering blows in his short career, he was not always blessed with such power.

Prior to his Test debut, having been unable to secure a top-order place in Surrey's T20 side, he turned down a trip with England Lions to instead play in the ILT20 in the United Arab Emirates.

There he worked on his power hitting, while also bulking up in the gym.

Though the 80 balls Smith took to reach three figures meant Gilbert Jessop, England's fastest centurion, can rest easy as he holds onto his record further into a 123rd year, it did mean Smith tied for second place in terms of fastest Test tons by a wicketkeeper.

Ahead of Smith is only Australia's Adam Gilchrist – the greatest keeper-batter of them all.

Smith was not out of his first summer in Test cricket before comparisons were being made between him and the Australian great last year, given his hitting power and ability to bat with the tail.

These wagon wheels of Jamie Smith's innings shows how he scored his runs against the pace bowlers (left) and spinners (right). Against pace, he scored heavily on the leg side while he played very straight and through the off side against the spinners

The way the Whitgift School-product pulls pace bowlers from back-of-a-length over mid-wicket is a reminder of some of the greatest Australians – and whets the appetite for England's winter ahead.

Australia is yet to see the best of Smith – he averages 23.16 against them from six one-day internationals - and any suggestions he is Gilchrist's heir will be met by sniggers down under.

Gilchrist scored 17 Test hundreds as he switched between a destroyer of tiring attacks to a man overqualified for a rebuild from number seven when the great Australian top order did fail.

One thing Smith has on his side is time, however, given he made his first Test century aged 24. Gilchrist did not make his debut until two weeks before his 28th birthday.

While ending his career with a record to match Gilchrist's remains optimistic, the road to becoming England's best looks within reach given Smith's talent and the ease in which he has taken to international level.

He has been in the Test arena less than a year but already only five wicketkeepers – Alan Knott and Jonny Bairstow with five, Stewart six, Matt Prior on seven and pre-War great Les Ames on eight - sit ahead in terms of most centuries for England.

Should he continue as he has started, injuries or England deciding to relieve him of the gloves look to be the only hazards in Smith's way.

While solid enough – he has a catch percentage of 96% from his 11 completed Tests – as a gloveman he does not move quickly enough to reach opportunities others could lay a hand on, while his missed stumping of Rishabh Pant in the first innings in Leeds last week was a regulation chance that Pant did not fully punish.

A change looks a long way off, however, with Smith a favourite of the Stokes-McCullum regime.

Pressure could one day come from recent England call-up James Rew, who has 10 first-class hundreds for Somerset and is still aged 21, or his younger, possibly even more talented, brother, Thomas. The younger Rew is 17 and made the fastest century for England Under-19s earlier this week.

For now Smith has the role to himself and he will soon be a favourite of England's vocal support.

The loudest noise during the third day was the Hollies chanting of Harry Brook's name to the tune of a Boney M track as he raised his bat.

It is Smith, though, that 17-year-old spotted by Stewart and now a fully-fledged international wicketkeeper and father, who is England's Daddy Cool.