England wicket-keeper Jamie Smith drew comparisons to Australia great Adam Gilchrist as Sri Lanka took control of the third Test at The Oval on an action-packed day on Sunday.
Smith top-scored for his side with a quickfire 67 in England’s second innings, but Sri Lanka reached 94/1 at stumps in pursuit of 219 for victory and are well placed for victory and to keep their chances alive of reaching next year’s ICC World Test Championship final.
The victory target may have been even smaller if not for Smith’s timely cameo, with England’s top-order skittled by Lahiru Kumara (4/21), Vishwa Fernando (3/40) and Asitha Fernando (2/49) and
only four batters reaching double figures.
Smith hit 10 fours and one massive six during his 50-ball stay after coming in at No.6 and is starting to put together a quality resume as an international keeper-batter following his first summer on home soil.
Smith has scored 487 runs at an average of 48.70 from six Tests this summer and his latest effort at The Oval even saw England assistant coach Paul Collingwood compare the 24-year-old to legendary Australia keeper Adam Gilchrist.
Gilchrist was renowned for taking on opposition bowlers as soon as he arrived at the crease and Smith is beginning to show some similar traits with the way he bats, an ICC report said.
“It’s exciting when he comes in,” Collingwood said of Smith. “He’s certainly an entertainer.”
“You go back to the days of when Gilchrist would come in for Australia. It sucks the life out of you
as the opposition when someone has the ability to do something like that. In his short Test career,
he has shown some great skills,” Collingwood said.
While Collingwood admitted Sri Lanka are in the box seat to clinch victory in the third Test, he thinks his team are still capable of pulling claiming the nine remaining wickets and registering the series sweep.
“We’re going to need a special day if we’re going to win this match,” Collingwood said. “There will be belief in the dressing room. It will be one hell of a Test match to win from this position.”
“We always look at the opportunity, rather than the failures. When you have that optimism, it’s amazing what can translate on to the cricket field. We have been in some deep holes at times but have found ways of getting out of them because of the talent in the dressing room,” he added.
Brief score:
