[Watch] Jamie Smith reaches his maiden ton on Day 3 of ENG vs SL 1st Test
England keeper-batter Jamie Smith reached his maiden hundred on Day 3 of the opening Test against Sri Lanka at Old Trafford in Manchester. The youngster celebrated calmly as the crowd and the England camp were on their feet to applaud him.
The right-handed batter had come into the middle on Day 2 when England were in a spot of bother as Harry Brook's wicket reduced them to 187-5. Nevertheless, Smith had shepherded the hosts into the lead by the close of the day alongside Gus Atkinson. The 24-year-old, who had replaced Jonny Bairstow for the first Test series of the summer, stayed unbeaten on 72 at the close on Day 2 and got to the magical three-figure mark with a single to the deep square-leg region.
You can watch Smith reach his maiden ton here:
The Surrey batter had made an instant impression on debut, scoring 70 against the West Indies at Lord's. He made scores of 36, 6, and 95 in the subsequent innings that he batted as the Englishmen pulverised the tourists 3-0. With Ben Stokes' absence leaving a hole in England's line-up, Smith's innings will prove to be invaluable.
Prabath Jayasuriya ends Jamie Smith's stay as Sri Lanka chip away
It was left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasuriya who got the better of the 24-year-old for 111 with a wide delivery as the right-hander toe-ended it to the keeper. Jayasuriya had bowled two absolute beauties on Day 2 to dismiss Harry Brook and Chris Woakes. The keeper-batter's wicket proved to be his third.
Sri Lankan captain Dhananjaya de Silva won the toss and elected to bat first, but the tourists had a disastrous start. Three out of the top four batters perished for single-figure scores. De Silva and debutant Milan Rathnayake stood out with 74 and 72 runs, respectively, to give their side a respectable total of 236.
Sri Lanka had their first and only series win in England in 2014 under Angelo Mathews' captaincy.