It remains a curious position that Jamie Smith occupies within the cricketing landscape, asked to play two entirely different roles for county and country. England’s first-choice gloveman, we still presume, sits comfortably as second-string stopper at Surrey; where the national set-up have liked his ability to go through the gears and bat with the tail, at the Oval this season Smith has been a top-order linchpin at No 3.
But with Ben Foakes nursing a torso injury suffered, farcically, after being tossed the ball late in a drab draw with Essex on Monday, here was a rare County Championship outing with the gloves on for his able deputy. Had Foakes sat down with the man who supplanted him in the England Test team, he might have warned Smith to expect a long, slow day in the dirt – across three games and four innings this season, save the period bowling in which he did himself a mischief, Foakes had been out there for 502 overs this season and been able to celebrate just 32 wickets from behind the stumps.
That advice would have proved misplaced on an altogether different day of Championship cricket. After a start to the season characterised by slow decks and high scores, this was a much livelier surface with zip and carry and an emerald colour that would not have looked out of place on the tables of the Crucible. It was utilised to fine effect by Jordan Clark, who at one stage had figures of 5-14, and the rest of the Surrey seam attack in a morning session where they reduced Sussex to 92-7 – only for the visitors to come roaring back with an extraordinary counter-punch from Jack Carson and Ollie Robinson and eventually declare on 358/9.
Having safely pouched two simple catches, Smith might have been contemplating swapping his keeping pads for batting gear and readying himself to bat at first-drop when he and his colleagues re-emerged after lunch. Instead, he could only watch on as Sussex’s No 9 and 10 each doubled their tally of first-class hundreds.
Carson is enduring a lean year with his off-breaks, but is an immensely likeable cricketer, ever-energetic in the field and an excellent batter to have lurking down at No 9. Robinson, meanwhile, might have felt this a game to push his England case with the ball against a top order that includes five internationals; he was happy to tuck in with the tool of his secondary trade in a glorious partnership of 173.
It was quite remarkable stuff. Surrey are missing Dan Worrall, Tom Lawes and Gus Atkinson from their first-choice attack in this game, and lack a full-time spinner in their side, but could not have anticipated quite how the day unravelled. Carson nudged the luckless Reece Topley to midwicket for his second first-class hundred, before Robinson blasted Clark over the boundary to bring up his own ton – and immediately declared, to have a dip late in the day with the ball.
It proved to no avail as Rory Burns and Dom Sibley watchfully navigated to the close, meaning Smith will have to wait until tomorrow for a hit. It’s a funny game.
Elsewhere, a six-wicket haul for Lewis Gregory helped Somerset get off to a strong start against Yorkshire at Taunton.
The experienced all-rounder cleaned up Joe Root (33) on his way to impressive figures of 6-43 as the visitors were bowled out for 162 – and Somerset ended the day 39 ahead thanks to a rollicking 136* from opener Josh Thomas.
Glamorgan, meanwhile, piled on the runs against Hampshire as both Zain-ul-Hassan (131*) and Kiran Carlson (158*) cashed in after England hopeful Asa Tribe had fallen for 45 to close on 353/1. Nottinghamshire also cashed in, with Ben Slater’s 178 powering a sizeable score of 405/4 against Leicestershire as Ben Duckett (77) continued to find form.
In Division Two, Zak Crawley fell just short of a first half-century of the season for Kent but Daniel Bell-Drummond produced a captain’s knock of 129 to lead his side to 352, with Derbyshire 24/0 in reply. Middlesex battled to 272/6 against a disciplined Durham while Northamptonshire are 266 in arrears of Worcestershire’s 306 all out.
