Jamie Smith bumped up the order to three for England’s Champions Trophy opener
The 24-year-old missed England’s last two T20s against India and the three-match ODI series owing to a left calf injury.
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Your support makes all the difference.England have sprung a surprise by naming fit-again Jamie Smith as their new number three batter and wicketkeeper for their Champions Trophy opener against Australia on Saturday.
Smith was tipped to be behind the stumps at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium after donning the gloves in England’s past two training sessions, with Phil Salt relegated to practising his outfield catching.
While that has now been confirmed as England named their XI two days out, with Salt retaining his spot as opener alongside Ben Duckett, it is the promotion to first drop of Smith that is especially eye-catching.
The 24-year-old, who missed England’s last two T20s against India and the three-match ODI series owing to a left calf injury, has batted at number three once for Surrey in List A cricket but never higher than five in 18 international appearances across formats.
Yet he has been bumped up the order, with Yorkshire pair Joe Root and Harry Brook, captain Jos Buttler and all-rounder Liam Livingstone each falling a place as England reinforce a batting line-up that struggled to deal with India’s spinners in a tour where they won just one of eight white-ball matches.
Brydon Carse has been passed fit following a toe injury that saw him miss the last two ODIs against India and he joins Jofra Archer and Mark Wood as part of a three-prong pace attack.
While Livingstone and Root are set to share fifth-bowler duties, Adil Rashid is the sole frontline spinner in what is set to be his ninth global tournament with England, which he is adamant can end in success like the 2019 50-over and 2022 T20 World Cups despite their abject recent results in India.
England were outclassed by the world number one side in T20s and ODIs, losing both series as Brendon McCullum’s reign as white-ball head coach got off to a rocky start.
- v Australia, Lahore - February 22
- v Afghanistan, Lahore - February 26
- v South Africa, Karachi - March 1
Yet Rashid feels a line has been drawn under the trip and after unwinding with their families in Abu Dhabi in the past few days, he is sure a new environment can help England turn around their fortunes.
Asked if he is confident about going all the way in the Champions Trophy, the veteran leg-spinner replied: “Yeah, 100 per cent we’ve got that belief. It’s a fresh start and we’re raring to go.
“Regardless of what happened in India, we’ve got that belief that we’ve got the talent, the world-class players, the match winners in the squad to win the tournament.
“It’s a new tournament, you’re playing against a different opposition. We lost against India but hopefully we take that as a positive and learn from the mistakes and put on a good show here.”
Rain left Australia unable to train outdoors on Thursday afternoon but drier weather later on meant England could be put through their paces under lights on a chilly evening at the Gaddafi Stadium.
England, who started the session by conducting drills with 50 local schoolchildren in an International Cricket Council-run clinic, have little margin for error because of the high-stakes nature of the Champions Trophy.
After Australia, England play Afghanistan in Lahore next Wednesday and South Africa in Karachi next Saturday and likely need at least two wins to progress from Group B and reach the semi-finals.
How Rashid, back in the homeland of both of his parents, fares could be crucial to their hopes but despite turning 37 this week, he refuses to look at this as a valedictory tournament.
“I’m not thinking about retirement or when to hang up the boots,” he said. “When the time is right, the time will be right. I still feel good in terms of moving in the field, running and bowling, always.”
Rashid has been instrumental in England’s limited-overs sides for nearly a decade but no longer counts spin twin and close friend Moeen Ali as a team-mate after he announced his international retirement last year.
“Sometimes I do look up and wonder if he’s bowling at the other end or not because over the past 10 years, we’ve been doing it together,” Rashid added. “I do miss him in that way. But life moves on.”