Jamie Smith is back: so will England now pick him as a specialist batsman?
10.04.26, 23:24 Updated 11.04.26, 13:07 4 Minute Read
Mark Baldwin
Jamie Smith has now batted three times for Surrey in County Championship cricket in the first five playing days of the 2026 season, and scored 307 runs. It’s as if his Ashes winter nightmare was just a bad dream.
Smith’s sublime 166 against Leicestershire at the Kia Oval, on the opening day of their first home Championship fixture, spearheaded a drive to a commanding 412 for six by stumps and followed his nine and 132 against Warwickshire at Edgbaston.
What’s more, and what’s probably even more important, is that the 25-year-old has already faced no fewer than 514 balls and batted for a total of 691 minutes – that’s just over eleven and a half hours of crease occupation. And it’s still only April 10!
Smith has clearly benefitted – and relished – being back at Surrey since returning from Australia in early January after an Ashes series in which he scored only 211 runs from 10 innings at an average of 23.44.
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