Jamie Smith’s nerveless brutality – and three late wickets – give England hope in series decider against Pakistan as spin rules in Rawalpindi

It wasn’t an easy first tour for Jamie Smith but – with a series on the line and his team in trouble – he answered England’s call on a chaotic opening day of this decisive third Test.

When Ben Stokes urged Sajid Khan to slip shortly after lunch, sparking the ‘kabbadi’ celebration that Pakistan hopes will define this series, England were 118 for six on a pitch showing alarming levels of uneven bounce and turning. showed early in a Test.

But Smith and his Surrey teammate Gus Atkinson spent the next hour and a half giving England a better chance than fighting: Smith pounding the Pakistani spinners for six sixes during a pulsating 89, while Atkinson peeled off some first-class drives in a mature match . 39.

Under normal circumstances, a total of 267 would be neither here nor there, but the strip is tailor-made to help run – at least that’s the polite way of putting it – and Pakistan will have to bat last. The 105 added by Smith and Atkinson could increase in size as the game unfolds.

Sure enough, stumps had reduced the hosts to 73 for three, with England’s spinners ensuring the ball disrupted the top of the surface.

Smith’s display of nervous brashness and his icy temperament have England in turmoil

Pakistan, meanwhile, will be hoping that Sajid Khan’s ‘kabbadi’ celebration will define the series

Shoaib Bashir was so confident he had pinned Abdullah Shafique in front that he launched into a Stuart Broad-style ‘celebration appeal’ before umpire Chris Gaffaney raised his finger, and Jack Leach allowed Saim Ayub to tamely chip to short midwicket – his 15th wicket of an excellent performance. comeback series.

When Gus Atkinson was brought back to bowl only the third over of the day, he nipped one through the gate off a surprised Kamran Ghulam – a centurion who made his debut last week and now cast for three.

But it was mainly thanks to Smith that England came in with a shout, while at one point they went down with a whimper. Still just 24 years old, he has built a reputation for nerveless brutality in only his ninth Test. Add to that an icy temperament and a natural ability to read a game and solve problems, and the ingredients are all there.

His best Test to date had come against Sri Lanka in Manchester, where he followed up a first-innings hundred with a cameo 39 to break the back of a tough chase. But this was better, saving England from the kind of collapse that would have squandered the advantage of winning their first toss in eight tries.

Initially cautious, a welcome antidote to the frenetic frenzy of the morning, he then calculated Sajid’s off-spin for four sixes and Zahid Mahmood’s leg-break for two as the ball softened and Pakistan began to doubt themselves . .

He thought he had a seventh six too, only for the four scorers on the field to insist that a difficult chance, parried on the boundary by Saud Shakeel, had been signaled as a four instead. Apparently he walked away with 91 to his name after missing a slog sweep from Mahmood, but Smith later had to settle for 89.

No matter: this was the performance of a serious talent, and one good enough to play regularly in the top six, should Stokes ever decide that his greatest value to the team will come from turning himself into a counter-attacking no. .7.

Smith showed his seniors and superiors the way on a pitch prepared with the help of giant fans, patio heaters and sharp rakes, and may yet be able to convince ICC match referee Richie Richardson to take action. Even Pakistan coach Jason Gillespie is baffled by all this.

The field was constructed using gigantic fans, patio heaters and sharp rakes

Jack Leach has bowled brilliantly on his comeback tour and has now taken 15 wickets in Pakistan

It is believed that Richardson was unhappy with the decision to use the same pitch for the two Multan Tests, so god knows what he thought of left-arm spinner Noman Ali’s ball, which barely left the ground before hitting Ben Duckett lbw for 52 in the trap beckoned.

But if Duckett was unlucky enough to get one of the sporadic pea-shooters that should earn Rawalpindi censure from the game’s governing body, the rest of England’s top order took turns making trading mistakes as the two spinners who claimed all 20 wickets last week bowled unchanged until lunch and beyond.

Zak Crawley put it away after a promising opening stand of 56, taking Noman Ali to 29 points, before Ollie Pope – increasingly all at sea on this trip – was plumb for three in an attempt to beat Sajid.

Last week, Joe Root fell twice during the sweep, while Harry Brook made two fatal returns. As if to make up for it, Root now stayed back with Sajid and was hit from the front by a big off-break, while Brook got far forward and was thrown behind his legs as he tried to sweep.

England had barely eaten their lunch when Stokes’ wicket took the tally to six for 62. But Smith followed the advice of those who had already come and gone, not least Duckett’s suggestion that the pitch was not conducive to sweeps.

“If Ben Duckett says it’s hard to sweep, then it’s probably next to impossible,” Smith said. ‘I took that with me and tried to hide as much as possible. It was a little more selective. I only see the field getting worse, mainly due to the low resilience.’

Smith refused to panic before putting into action the six-hitting game that had enlivened the day before

Above all, Smith refused to panic before putting into practice the six-hitting game that had enlivened training the day before, while Akinson confirmed his position in the rankings above Rehan Ahmed at No.8.

Sajid rounded out the innings to add six wickets to the nine he took in the second Test in Multan, and later accused England of helping him with some loose blows. It won’t be the last of a match that has already become a bunfight.