Jamie Smith eager to thrive for England after challenging period

Jamie Smith has spoken candidly about a difficult six to nine months and expressed his determination to perform for England as the side begins the post-Bazball era. The 26-year-old wicketkeeper-batter is set to feature in a three-match Test series against Pakistan, which opens at Headingley on August 19, and concludes at Edgbaston on September 13.

Smith drew sharp criticism from several former England players during the recent Ashes series, particularly for a dismissal off Marnus Labuschagne in Sydney. That difficult stretch stood in stark contrast to the form he had produced when he first broke into the Test side.

"I've obviously been slightly disappointed with how the last six to nine months have gone, they've been challenging, there's no doubt about that. But I think every player experiences that throughout their career and I feel like I will be better for these experiences. If I go back to Australia, I'll be in a better position to know the conditions and know what to expect and improve on that. Hopefully against Pakistan, I can play how I played in the last innings at Trent Bridge and have a bit more success there," Smith told The Press Association, as quoted by The Independent.

How has Smith's Test record changed since his early career?

Roughly a year ago, Smith held an average close to 60 across his opening 12 Tests and had matched the record for reaching 1,000 Test runs as a wicketkeeper, doing so in just 21 innings. That rapid accumulation placed him among the more accomplished batting wicketkeepers to emerge from English cricket in recent memory.

Across 22 Tests, his average has since settled just below 40. Over his last 10 matches he has recorded three half-centuries, the most recent coming against New Zealand at Nottingham. Smith also sat out one of England's three Tests against New Zealand, a series the hosts lost 2-1, due to paternity leave. The Pakistan fixtures at Headingley, Lord's and Edgbaston offer him a sustained run to rebuild his standing following the end of Brendon McCullum's tenure as England Test head coach.

What has Smith said about his work with Sarah Taylor on glovework?

England men's fielding coach Sarah Taylor has been working with Smith on his wicketkeeping since joining the setup. Smith acknowledged the support he received from McCullum, which had given him significant confidence behind the stumps before Taylor's arrival. He did, however, appreciate the work the former England Women's wicketkeeper-batter has put into the team.

"When you're not keeping for your county, it can bring a fair amount of criticism but he [McCullum] instilled a lot of confidence in me to be one of the best in the world. That definitely helped me because keeping was one of the things I was most anxious about, having not done it for a long period of time in the lead-up to games and series – he gave me a lot more confidence to go out there and be as good as I can be," he said.

"I'm definitely enjoying working with Sarah, she's a fantastic coach and brings a lot of energy every day. We've had some good periods already in the short time she's worked with England. I've just worked on little bits, it's had varying degrees of success, it's more of a project. I feel like I've been keeping better but then you're obviously disappointed with a couple of mistakes you made that make it seem like you haven't been doing the work or the work isn't working. But I felt up until the point where you drop a couple of balls, it was working quite nicely and the stuff we were doing will have benefits moving forward into the future," he added.