Jamie Smith is looking to Brendon McCullum for inspiration after being handpicked by England’s head coach as the team’s new one-day wicketkeeper.
McCullum fast-tracked Smith into the Test side at the start of the summer, skipping a generation as Jonny Bairstow and Ben Foakes were moved aside, and the results were striking enough for him to make the same decision again when it came to this month’s ODI series against Australia.
McCullum does not officially take charge of the white-ball setup until January, but there is no question that the charismatic Kiwi is already pulling the strings ahead of Thursday’s opener at Trent Bridge.
It was McCullum who pulled Smith to one side at the end of the recent Test series against Sri Lanka and informed him that he had been chosen ahead of T20 keeper Phil Salt to take over from Jos Buttler, who is currently injured but ready to step away from the stumps more permanently to refresh his captaincy.
McCullum made his name as a free-spirited, stroke-making keeper-batter in his own playing days and, if he sees a kindred spirit in Smith, then the feeling is mutual.
“To be told I’m keeping wicket for England in a couple of formats now is nice. I found out just after the last Test finished at the Oval…Baz told me I was going to be keeping,” he said.
“Him taking charge of the white-ball side was a bit of a surprise, I wasn’t expecting it at all, but in the short period of time I have spent with him, he’s been fantastic.
“He’s sort of what I look to be as a cricketer, I guess: that nice attacking wicketkeeper-batsman.
It gives you confidence to have someone there that’s had that sort of experience.
“You don’t tend to get too many wicketkeepers that are coaches and have an important role in the side, to help you along the way, so it’s great to have him.”
While Bairstow built much of his cricketing identity around his dual role and Foakes carved out a niche as one of the most natural glovemen on the planet, Smith fits a different profile.
He has grown up viewing himself first and foremost as a run-scorer, ready to step up behind the stumps as needed. And, having played much of his domestic career alongside Foakes at Surrey, that has not always been the case.
“I’d say up to this point in my career it’s been about batting first and I’ve been keeping on the side,” he admitted.
“But that’s about your role in the side. When you’ve got Ben Foakes in your team, you’re not going to be the wicketkeeper. I was happy just to bat because it’s something I love doing, so it’s a new tag for me but an exciting one.
“To keep in the Test series was a fantastic vote of confidence – that you’re good enough and they see you as good enough to go out and perform that role. Then it’s just picking up little tricks and tips along the way of what you can work on in different situations.”
England have added Saqib Mahmood to their squad for the series, retaining the Lancashire seamer after he played both T20s last week.
Mahmood played the last of his eight ODIs 18 months ago in Bangladesh and bolsters a crowded attack that already features Jofra Archer, Matthew Potts, Gus Atkinson, Reece Topley and John Turner.