England vs West Indies: Jamie Smith shows the method to hosts thinking

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England vs West Indies: Jamie Smith shows the method to hosts thinking

He has a technically solid defence and drives through the covers with ease. But he can also pick the ball off a length and deposit it over mid-wicket as he did on Tuesday.

“He’s not a slogger, is he? He’s playing proper shots,” was how Brook put it succinctly.

England also know the importance of an opening partnership if their rebirth after the troubles of Jos Buttler’s final 18 months as captain is to be successful.

Eoin Morgan’s World Cup-winning team had Buttler’s fireworks, a match-winner in Ben Stokes and Joe Root’s calmness but none of that would have been possible without Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow setting platforms that would have been too big for the 1970s.

In Tests, England’s best performances under McCullum’s leadership – in Rawalpindi, at The Oval, or at Edgbaston – have all been built on significant opening partnerships.

Like Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley against the red ball, Duckett and Smith attack the white like they are playing different sports.

To get technical, Duckett’s average interception point against seamers is around 1.77m, 33cm behind Smith’s.

While right-hander Smith targets boundaries in front of him, left-hander Duckett has scored only 18% his career runs against pacers in the ‘V’.

And in McCullum, Smith has a coach who opened 107 times in ODIs and did so in a New Zealand side that reached a World Cup final – an ideal sounding board should one be needed.

As one may expect with England’s relaxed approach, however, Smith has largely been left to create his own plans during his first week in the job.

“He knows how to bat,” Brook said.

“Like I said so many times, he’s done it in Test cricket for periods.

“He’s gonna have a good go at it at the top in one-day cricket and I think everybody’s excited to see how he goes.”

Brook knows there will be bumps to come but Smith will be given every chance to lead England on their ride.

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