Jamie Smith wins England wicketkeeper battle

GEORGE DOBELL: Surrey's Jamie Smith earns selection as England's Test wicketkeeper as Jonny Bairstow and Ben Foakes miss out on the squad to face West Indies

George Dobell | 30/06/2024 at 09:30

Jamie Smith will keep wicket for England in the first couple of Tests of the summer against West Indies.

23-year-old Smith is not first-choice keeper for his county, Surrey. But he has kept in 19 first-class games and he is generally acknowledged as an outstanding batter with a bright future.

He played two ODIs against Ireland at the end of the last English season and averages above 40 in first-class cricket. That averages rise above 48 when he has the gloves. He is expected to bat at No.7.

Smith replaces his Surrey teammate, Ben Foakes, who kept magnificently in India but struggled to play the aggressive batting role England want from a keeper batting with the tail. Smith is a naturally faster-scoring player with a strike-rate of 58.58 in first-class cricket; that's about eight quicker than Foakes. He is averaging 50.70 in this year's County Championship.

England, who have announced a 14-man squad for the first two Tests of the summer, have also called up seamer Dillon Pennington for the first time. Pennington, who joined Nottinghamshire from Worcestershire at the end of last season, has impressed this season in taking 29 Championship wickets (at a cost of 23.03 apiece). Only Jamie Porter has claimed more.

Pennington, who is capable of bowing at a sharp pace (above 85 mph), has impressive stamina, generates some bounce, and will be seen as a prospect for the Ashes tour in 18 months.

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Dillon Pennington has been on England's radar after impressing this summer (Gareth Copley/Getty Images)

There is also a recall for Chris Woakes, who was not selected for the tour to India having been England's player of the series in the Ashes, and Gus Atkinson, who is uncapped at Test level but was part of the squad for the India tour. Woakes' inclusion, probably at No. 8, will help balance a side which might otherwise have a long tail.

Elsewhere Shoaib Bashir is preferred to Jack Leach or Tom Hartley as the only specialist spinner in the squad while Dan Lawrence, one of four Surrey players in the squad, would appear to be the reserve batter. Matthew Potts is also recalled and looks mostly likely to win a chance to establish himself in the side.

Sam Cook, the Essex seamer who has been a prolific wicket-taker in recent years, has been recovering from a hamstring injury and hasn’t played for about a month. He is close to a return, however, and likely to win an opportunity later in the summer.

James Anderson has been named in the squad but in the knowledge that he will retire after the first Test.

All this means there is no place for Jonny Bairstow. The 34 year-old, a veteran of 100 Tests, had admitted recently that he would love to reclaim the gloves. Instead he finds himself surplus to requirements after an India tour in which he failed to reach 40 in 10 innings.

This could well mark the end of Bairstow's international career. Since his recall after suffering a freak injury while playing golf, he has averaged 31.11 in 11 Tests. He also endured a bitterly disappointing ODI World Cup and a T20 World Cup which never quite took off for him.

There is also no place for Ollie Robinson, the Sussex seamer, or Ollie Robinson, the Durham keeper who has been in fine form this summer. In terms of the seamer, England were looking for him to prove he could sustain decent pace throughout the early months of the summer. But he conceded 43 in an over against Leicestershire last week, courtesy of a remarkable innings from Louis Kimber, and has not taken a five-fer.

The other Robinson, from Durham, can probably count himself unfortunate. He has scored 744 runs at an average of 82.66 this Championship season - only two men have scored more in Division One - and has kept wicket neatly.

"The first Test of the summer is always a special moment, but it will be extra poignant with it being Jimmy's [Anderson] last Test before he retires," ECB Managing Director for England Men's Cricket, Rob Key, said. "He has given everything to the sport since his Test debut in 2003. We all would like to wish him well as he walks out at Lord’s for the last time for England."

"We are looking forward to getting the season underway against a strong West Indies side in what will be an excellent Test series."

The first Test starts at Lord's on July 10.

England Men's Test Squad: Ben Stokes, James Anderson (first Test only), Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Dan Lawrence, Dillon Pennington, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Chris Woakes

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