As strange as it might seem, the battle for England’s Test wicketkeeping berth is taking place at No 3 in the County Championship.
No sooner had Somerset’s James Rew notched his 12th first-class hundred, the incumbent Jamie Smith issued a reminder of his abundant class with a measured, mature century of his own to save Surrey from defeat against Warwickshire.
Smith is one of a number of England regulars under pressure and, with the management promising that championship performances will be taken into consideration this summer, Rew is a cricketer demanding attention. He made a Test squad last summer and is a Lions regular, with Somerset claiming that only Sir Don Bradman and Sachin Tendulkar had more than his 12 centuries at the age of 22. Eagle-eyed statisticians have pointed out that Denis Compton, WG Grace and Ricky Ponting are also in that club. Nevertheless, he is keeping elite company.
It is easy to forget how high Smith’s stock was midway through the series against India last summer. Since, little has gone right: he tired towards the end of an arduous series, which bled into his white-ball performances, leading to him being discarded; he was overlooked in the Indian Premier League auction; worst of all, he had an underwhelming Ashes, including a bad drop at Brisbane, and a couple of unforgettably ugly dismissals, most notably to Marnus Labuschagne at Sydney.
At Edgbaston, amid a Surrey collapse in gloomy conditions, he started the season with a flat-footed edge behind. Ben Foakes, his predecessor as England keeper, bailed Surrey out with a fine hundred. Foakes remains a contender, as does Jordan Cox, although he is bench-warming at the Indian Premier League, rather than playing for Essex.
But, having conceded 544 by the time Smith walked out to bat again, his side were back in the mire, still 216 behind against a sporting Warwickshire attack. His 132, which took almost six hours, ended with Surrey 150 in front and the game safe.
This was not the impatient, injudicious Smith of the Ashes, where two technical issues – an eagerness against the short ball and a gaping gate – emerged. It was the sort of batsmanship that earned Smith selection by England two years ago. He faced 261 balls, and was not tempted by an invitingly short Edgbaston boundary on one side.
Smith’s reflection was that “it was nice to go out there and graft it out”, which is a promising statement. It was not flawless, as he flashed through the slips and was dropped low down at extra cover, both after reaching 50, and was eventually caught on the boundary trying to hit a straight six. But by then, his stand of 217 with fellow centurion Dan Lawrence had made the game safe.
It is an innings that will provide succour for Smith, who deserves credit on two counts. First for turning down an enticing offer to be a replacement player at the IPL in favour of getting stuck into the championship. Secondly, for putting his hand up to bat No 3 after Ollie Pope, who had a quiet match, opted to return to his favoured four with his England career over for now. Smith does not keep for Surrey because Foakes is so tidy, but is the county’s finest batsman. There will be tricky days at No 3, but also great opportunity, as he learnt here.
Rew has slowly been edging up the order for Somerset, and is also better off exposing himself to the newer ball. Having batted at four in the first innings against Nottinghamshire, making 64, he moved to No 3 in the second, and scored a sprightly 122, although the game ended in a draw.
England’s doubts over Rew appear to have centred on his ability against the short ball, but he simply churns out runs season after season, to such an extent that his best route to a Test cap might be as a pure batsman. When his younger brother Thomas has completed his A-levels this summer, he will come into the Somerset side, possibly with the gloves, which may allow James to open. He has the game, and might solve a problem position for the county.
Whether there is a spot available as England’s keeper is unclear, but they definitely have problems at the top of the order. Zak Crawley’s struggles continued for Kent, as he was lbw to Matthew Potts for the second time in Kent’s storm-affected game at Durham, for a combined 29. With that in mind, Smith and Rew’s moves to the top order may give England pause for thought over whether they could fit into the same Test side.
The big winners of the opening round
Sussex started on -12 because of their financial troubles but end round one in the black, on 10 points, after a thumping win at promoted Leicestershire. Most pleasing for Sussex should be that almost every player chipped in somewhere. Amid Ollie Robinson’s first-innings heroics, most striking was Henry Crocombe, who took nine for 69, including the final wicket of the 222-run win.
Middlesex have had another difficult winter, but could barely have dreamt of a better start to the season, beating Gloucestershire by an innings at Lord’s. They ground out 445, then bowled out Gloucestershire twice with little fuss. Toby Roland-Jones set the tone, but England Under-19 bowler Seb Morgan gave notice of his promise with four for 48 in the second innings.
Glamorgan fell three wickets short of beating Yorkshire, but showed they could mix it in Division One after 21 years away. Kiran Carlson, their new captain, was aggressive, and Colin Ingram and Mason Crane were outstanding.