Jamie Smith aims to rediscover himself against Pakistan

England keeper-batter Jamie Smith has already experienced both the highs and lows of Test cricket in a relatively short international career. 

After establishing himself as England’s first-choice wicketkeeper-batter, Smith’s numbers have dipped over the past year.

Smith’s rise had been swift. He averaged 58.64 across his first 12 Tests and reached 1,000 Test runs in just 21 innings, matching the record for the fastest wicketkeeper to the landmark.

The period since has been less straightforward. During the Ashes Down Under, Smith registered just one fifty - a 60 in Adelaide - as England eventually went down 4-1. His overall Test average has subsequently dropped to 39.62 after 22 appearances, although he has still passed fifty three times across his last 10 Tests.

His latest effort, another 60 against New Zealand at Trent Bridge, could provide the platform for a response in the World Test Championship series against Pakistan.

“I’ve obviously been slightly disappointed with how the last six to nine months have gone, they’ve been challenging, there’s no doubt about that,” Smith told the Press Association.

“But I think every player experiences that throughout their career and I feel like I will be better for these experiences. If I go back to Australia, I’ll be in a better position to know the conditions and know what to expect and improve on that.

“Hopefully against Pakistan, I can play how I played in the last innings at Trent Bridge and have a bit more success there.”

The 26-year-old’s development has not been limited to his batting. His work behind the stumps has remained an important area of focus, with the keeper-batter now benefiting from the expertise of England great Sarah Taylor, one of the finest wicketkeepers of her generation.

The pair have been working on small technical aspects of Smith’s keeping, with the keeper viewing the process as part of a longer-term project rather than something that will transform his game overnight.

“I’m definitely enjoying working with Sarah, she’s a fantastic coach and brings a lot of energy every day," he added.

“We’ve had some good periods already in the short time she’s worked with England.

“I’ve just worked on little bits, it’s had varying degrees of success, it’s more of a project.

“I feel like I’ve been keeping better but then you’re obviously disappointed with a couple of mistakes you made that make it seem like you haven’t been doing the work or the work isn’t working.

“But I felt up until the point where you drop a couple of balls, it was working quite nicely and the stuff we were doing will have benefits moving forward into the future.”

The Pakistan series will offer Smith the chance to make his mark as England enter a fresh phase in their Test journey with Joe Root back at the helm as captain for a second stint.

Amid that change, Smith remains appreciative of the role former head coach Brendon McCullum played in giving him the confidence to take on the wicketkeeping responsibilities at Test level.

“When you’re not keeping for your county, it can bring a fair amount of criticism but he instilled a lot of confidence in me to be one of the best in the world,” Smith said.

“That definitely helped me because keeping was one of the things I was most anxious about, having not done it for a long period of time in the lead-up to games and series - he gave me a lot more confidence to go out there and be as good as I can be.”

The first Test against Pakistan, part of the ICC World Test Championship 2025-27, begins on Wednesday, 19 August at Headingley.

Series schedule

First Test: August 19–23, Headingley
Second Test: August 27–31, Lord's
Third Test: September 9–13, Edgbaston