"You go back to the days of when Gilchrist would come in for Australia" - Paul Collingwood on Jamie Smith after his heroics in ENG vs SL 2024 3rd Test
England's assistant coach Paul Collingwood has compared Jamie Smith to former Australia wicketkeeper-batter Adam Gilchrist due to his destructive ability with the bat. The former all-rounder believes an aggressive batter in the middle order could demotivate the opposition in Tests.
Smith, who has played a couple of crucial knocks since making his debut this summer, played a blinder on Day 3 of the third Test between England and Sri Lanka at The Oval on Sunday, September 8. With a breezy 50-ball 67, the Surrey batter lifted the hosts from 82-7 to 140-8 as they eventually set a 219-run target for the visitors.
Speaking to reporters after the day's play, Collingwood labeled Smith as an entertainer and claimed (as quoted by ICC):
"It's exciting when he comes in. He's certainly an entertainer. You go back to the days of when Gilchrist would come in for Australia. It sucks the life out of you as the opposition when someone has the ability to do something like that. In his short Test career, he has shown some great skills."
Despite setting a modest yet tricky target, England failed to make the desired inroads. Chris Woakes got the better of Dimuth Karunaratne but Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis scored freely to take Sri Lanka to 94/1 by the end of the day.
"It will be one hell of a Test match to win from this position" - Paul Collingwood on England's chances in 3rd Test
With Sri Lanka only 125 runs away from a famous victory, Collingwood said the hosts would need something special to win. However, the 48-year-old opined that they have a few worthy talents in the dressing room, capable of fashioning the win.
He said in the same interview:
"We're going to need a special day if we’re going to win this match. There will be belief in the dressing room. It will be one hell of a Test match to win from this position. We always look at the opportunity, rather than the failures. When you have that optimism, it's amazing what can translate on to the cricket field. We have been in some deep holes at times but have found ways of getting out of them because of the talent in the dressing room."
England have won five out of six Tests this season and lead the ongoing three-match series 2-0.