Jamie Smith determined to rediscover Test form against Pakistan

LEEDS: England wicketkeeper-batter Jamie Smith has experienced both the highs and lows of Test cricket during his relatively short international career, with the 26-year-old now hoping to regain his best form against Pakistan.

After establishing himself as England’s first-choice wicketkeeper-batter, Smith’s batting returns have dipped over the past year.

Smith’s rise to the Test side was swift. He averaged 58.64 in his first 12 Tests and reached 1,000 Test runs in just 21 innings, matching the record for the fastest wicketkeeper to reach the landmark.

However, the period since has been less straightforward. During the Ashes in Australia, Smith managed only one half-century — a 60 in Adelaide — as England eventually suffered a 4-1 series defeat.

His overall Test average has since fallen to 39.62 after 22 appearances, although he has still registered three fifties in his last 10 Tests.

His latest innings, another 60 against New Zealand at Trent Bridge, could provide the platform for a response when England face Pakistan in their ICC World Test Championship series.

“I’ve obviously been slightly disappointed with how the last six to nine months have gone. They’ve been challenging, there’s no doubt about that,” Smith told the Press Association.

“But I think every player experiences that throughout their career and I feel like I will be better for these experiences. If I go back to Australia, I’ll be in a better position to know the conditions and know what to expect and improve on that.

“Hopefully against Pakistan, I can play how I played in the last innings at Trent Bridge and have a bit more success there.”

Smith’s development has not been limited to his batting. His work behind the stumps has remained an important area of focus, with the wicketkeeper-batter now benefiting from the expertise of England great Sarah Taylor, one of the finest wicketkeepers of her generation.

The pair have been working on small technical aspects of Smith’s keeping, with the England batter viewing the process as a long-term project rather than something that will transform his game overnight.

“I’m definitely enjoying working with Sarah, she’s a fantastic coach and brings a lot of energy every day,” he said.

“We’ve had some good periods already in the short time she’s worked with England.

“I’ve just worked on little bits. It’s had varying degrees of success; it’s more of a project.

“I feel like I’ve been keeping better but then you’re obviously disappointed with a couple of mistakes you made that make it seem like you haven’t been doing the work or the work isn’t working.

“But I felt up until the point where you drop a couple of balls, it was working quite nicely and the stuff we were doing will have benefits moving forward into the future.”

The Pakistan series will give Smith another opportunity to make his mark as England enter a fresh phase in their Test journey, with Joe Root back as captain for a second stint.

Amid the changes, Smith remains appreciative of the role former England head coach Brendon McCullum played in giving him the confidence to take on wicketkeeping responsibilities at Test level.

“When you’re not keeping for your county, it can bring a fair amount of criticism, but he instilled a lot of confidence in me to be one of the best in the world,” Smith said.

“That definitely helped me because keeping was one of the things I was most anxious about, having not done it for a long period of time in the lead-up to games and series — he gave me a lot more confidence to go out there and be as good as I can be.”

The first Test against Pakistan, part of the ICC World Test Championship 2025-27, begins on Wednesday at Headingley.

England squad for first two Pakistan Tests: Joe Root (c), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Sam Cook, Jordan Cox, Ben Duckett, Matthew Fisher, Emilio Gay, Dan Lawrence, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Jamie Smith and Josh Tongue.