2026-05-17 11:30:50
Jamie Smith felt there was a “pile-on” against him following his poor performance during The Ashes.
The wicketkeeper endured a disappointing series as England fell to a 4-1 series loss in Australia last winter but felt that some observers were too critical of his performances.
Smith told Wisden Cricket Monthly: “Everyone is entitled to their opinion but in this day and age it’s quite hard to avoid all the opinions that get written.
“I didn’t have a good series, I struggled with the bat, and I felt at times that there was a bit of a pile-on to the other aspects of my game, onto the keeping in particular.
“And yeah, I dropped a howler in Brisbane (putting Travis Head down off Jofra Archer) and I feel like I’ve dropped a lot of catches in my career already and I will drop some more in the hopefully next 10 years that I’m playing!
“But it felt like I’d gone from (people thinking that) my keeping was fine, to now the keeping is a major issue, the batting is a major issue, and it was hard to avoid all of that.”
Smith has kept wicket for England since making his Test debut in 2024 but sees his future as a top-order batter.
Quizzed on where he sees himself in the future, the Surrey star said: “Definitely a top-order player.
“The keeping side of things is always something I’ve enjoyed doing as I’ve grown up. I’ve not been a bowler, so the keeping has helped with boredom at times in the field.
“The keeping has helped (open up) a lot of avenues, it’s got me into sides, and it’s great to have a second string to your bow. But every time I’ve got a bat in hand, I feel like that’s where I belong, if you like.”
Smith added: “I feel well-rounded, that I can do multiple things – red-ball, white-ball, I can bat time, I can take the game on – and that’s definitely, looking ahead, where I see myself.”
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