London, August 15
England wicketkeeper-batter Jamie Smith said that he is open to moving up the order to number six in the absence of skipper Ben Stokes for the Test series against Sri Lanka, starting from August 21.
A tear in his left hamstring, sustained during The Hundred, has ruled Stokes out for the remainder of the English summer. Consequently, he will miss the two-match series against Sri Lanka, which starts on 21 August.
England have opted not to name a replacement for Stokes in their squad for the Sri Lanka series. In his absence, Ollie Pope will serve as the captain of the Test team, as per the ICC.
Speaking as quoted by ESPNCricinfo, Smith said that a move up the order "would not bother him at all" since he has batted in a variety of positions and played a lot of different roles in his career.
"It would not bother me at all. One of the things that has been great in my career so far is I feel like I have batted in a variety of different positions and roles anyway, and I have gained some of these experiences. They might be at a lesser level in the County Championship, but I still feel like I have been able to adapt and get some experience under my belt - and the difference between number seven and number seven is not a massively great one anyway," said the keeper-batter.
On his Test debut against West Indies, Smith said that it was "mentally draining" even though matches did not last for full five days.
"It probably took more out of me than I was expecting, with all the emotions that came with it, the expectation, and a bit of added pressure... It has been different for me. Mentally and physically, it was quite a lot in three weeks, going from county cricket into that, and with the potential for more stuff to come," he added.
In three matches in that series concluded recently, Smith won acclaim for his role at number seven and eight, keeping one end steady with his rock-solid defence and shifting gears whenever needed. His batting with tail-enders was a huge highlight. In four innings, he scored 207 runs at an average of 51.75 and a strike rate of 71.62, with two half-centuries and best score of 95.
Stokes had returned to full fitness following knee surgery in November 2023, which had previously limited his role to batting only. Since his return, he resumed bowling duties, featuring in the series against India earlier this year and more recently against the West Indies.
England recorded a 3-0 series sweep against the Windies to move up to 6th place in the World Test Championship standings and will be keen to keep that momentum going against Sri Lanka, as per the ICC.
England squad for Sri Lanka series: Ollie Pope (captain), Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Harry Brook, Jordan Cox, Ben Duckett, Dan Lawrence, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.