England have sprung a surprise by naming fit-again Jamie Smith as their recent number three batter and wicketkeeper for his or her Champions Trophy opener against Australia on Saturday.
Smith was tipped to be behind the stumps at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium after donning the gloves in England’s past two training sessions, with Phil Salt relegated to practising his outfield catching.
While that has now been confirmed as England named their XI two days out, with Salt retaining his spot as opener alongside Ben Duckett, it’s the promotion to first drop of Smith that is particularly eye-catching.
The 24-year-old, who missed England’s last two T20s against India and the three-match ODI series owing to a left calf injury, has never batted higher than the number five position in internationals.
Yet he has been bumped up the order, with Yorkshire pair Joe Root and Harry Brook, captain Jos Buttler and all-rounder Liam Livingstone each falling a spot as England reinforce a batting line-up that struggled to take care of India’s spinners in a tour where they won just certainly one of eight white-ball matches.
Brydon Carse has been passed fit following a toe injury that saw him miss the last two ODIs against India and he joins Jofra Archer and Mark Wood as a part of a three-prong pace attack.
READ MORE: Travis Head says ‘I’m going to have my work cut out’ ahead of England clash
