India given wake-up call by England wicketkeeper after hosts ‘put them to bed’ in series opener in Headingley

England’s victory in the first match of their home series against India will be a massive confidence boost, particularly for the younger members of the team. The Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, and the Ashes to follow later this year, are a big challenge for a team which has chopped and changed plenty, but the performances of players such as young wicketkeeper Jamie Smith will be a big cause for optimism for English fans.

Smith hit the winning runs at Headingley to make it 1-0 in England’s favour, playing a couple of mature innings lower down the order to serve his team extremely well. Very much a subscriber of the demands that Bazball asks of its players, Smith credited this outlook of the team as the reason why they were able to shut the door on India and ensure a win in a historic chase.

“We’ve seen some really special stuff over the course of the three years – 500 in a day and chasing down these totals has been incredibly pleasing and special for those guys, showing what can be done,” said Smith to the Daily Mail.” This was a great example of where the team have got to that we didn’t give India a chance,” remarked Smith.

‘Never gave them a sniff…’

As per the 24-year-old, being very clinical in how they went about the chase and constructed the innings was crucial given the quality India possessed. Anchored by Ben Duckett’s sublime century, England kept Jasprit Bumrah wicketless in the fourth innings, a tall ask of any team but accomplished with great certainty by the hosts in Leeds.

“Maybe in the past we would have still played that same way, but might have had a collapse that gave them a chance or a little in. But it was so measured and controlled throughout that we never gave them a sniff. The really important thing is for the team to be quite ruthless: once you’re on top, try to put them to bed,” said the wicketkeeper.

Off to a strong start, Smith will want to ensure Rishabh Pant is not the only wicketkeeper batter making headlines this summer. He has made England’s manifesto clear: once they have the advantage, they will not let it slip. The question India will want to ask is if they can do something to force open any cracks.