3rd Test: England's Jamie Smith smashes counter-attacking 67 against SL
England's Jamie Smith played a superb counter-attacking knock against Sri Lanka on Day 3 of the third and final Test at the Kennington Oval. England suffered a collapse in their 2nd innings after bowling out Sri Lanka for 263. England were reduced to 82/7 before Smith got into the act and took England to 140/8 at Tea. Smith was dismissed for 67. Here's more.
A solid effort from Smith
Smith came to the crease when England were 66/4 in the 15th over. Smith was watchful early on. He hit his first boundary off the 25th ball he faced. After the dismissal of Gus Atkinson, Smith's onslaught started. He smashed 20 runs in the 27th over before collecting 16 in the 29th. He hit four more fours thereafter before being dismissed by Vishwa Fernando.
Fernando dismisses Smith
Fernando got the dangerous Smith with mid-wicket coming in for the final ball of the over. A fullish delivery saw Smith attempt to heave and he derived a thick inside edge and the ball went straight to the fielder.
A whirlwind effort sees Smith smash his 3rd Test fifty
Smith's 50-ball 67 was laced with 10 fours and a six. As per Cricbuzz, the first 30 balls faced by Smith saw him score 14 runs (SR: 46.67). However, the next 20 balls saw Smith manage 53 runs at a strike rate of 265. In six matches, Smith now owns 487 runs at 48.70. This was his 3rd fifty (100s: 1).
280 runs versus Sri Lanka in this series
In the three matches versus the Lankans in this series, Smith amassed 280 runs at 46.66. Smith hit a century (111) in the first Test in Manchester. This was his maiden fifty. He owns an impressive strike rate of 76.08 in this series.
Massive records for Smith
As per Cricbuzz, Smith, who made his debut for England in the series against West Indies, owns the 3rd-most Test runs by a wicketkeeper in an English summer after 753 - Jonny Bairstow (2016) and 499 - Alec Stewart (1998). Smith now owns the second-most runs by a designated wicketkeeper in first six Tests after 571 by Leslie Ames (England, 1929-1931).
