Jamie Smith felt his six-hitting exploits helped “change the momentum” after a stuttering start in England’s series decider against Pakistan.
The tourists were at risk of throwing the game away on day one in Rawalpindi, slipping to 118 for six after choosing to bat first, but Smith’s counter-attacking flurry from number seven put them back on an even keel.
On a spicy turning surface that saw spinners take 12 of the 13 wickets to fall, Smith found a way to return fire as he made a dashing 89.
The wicketkeeper rained down six sixes and five fours as he launched a crucial counter-attack in the afternoon session, lifting England to 267 before Pakistan managed 73 for three in response.
He admitted England were surprised by how much assistance there was from a pitch in the first innings of this third Test but enjoyed the challenge of putting pressure back on the bowlers.
“People didn’t quite know what to expect from that surface. A lot of people have been saying it never spins in Rawalpindi but we weren’t quite sure,” Smith said.
“It’s quite good to face alien conditions, that’s why you like coming away to places like this and experiencing different things. You ask yourself, ‘how can we change something?’, how can we try to change the momentum of the game and dictate terms a little bit going into the back end of our innings.
“It was more luck than judgement on some of those sixes. On another day one of those goes to hand, but thankfully it was my day. That’s the way I like to play my cricket.”
England’s bowlers made good on Smith’s recovery job, Shoaib Bashir and Jack Leach taking care of the Pakistan openers before Gus Atkinson landed a belated blow for the seamers’ union with another late breakthrough.
With the occasional ball shooting through at shin height, cracks in evidence and puffs of dust appearing regularly, Smith believes batting could get even harder as the game wears on.
“Every first-innings run was vital,” he said.
“Those runs are important when you bat first in an innings like that and you feel the pitch is going to deteriorate as the game goes on.
“I can only see it getting a little bit worse from here, especially with the low bounce and a little bit of turn. The bounce will only make it harder as the game goes on, it’s only going to get lower.”
Former England bowler Steven Finn raised an eyebrow at the quality of the wicket, which had been aggressively dried, baked and even raked by groundstaff in an attempt to suit Pakistan’s spinners.
“I felt the pitch would play better than it did at the start of the day. The first ball turned down the leg side and we just looked at each other,” he told BBC’s Test Match Special.
“When Ben Duckett got one that rolled along the floor it sent the spooks through England. It has not been a great first-day wicket. I imagine the match referee will look at it.”