England wicketkeeper Jamie Smith scored an unbeaten 184 runs in the ongoing Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy Test against India at Edgbaston on July 5, sharing a 303-run sixth-wicket partnership with Harry Brook who made 158, while revealing he was unaware of facing a hat-trick ball from Mohammed Siraj.LIVE Score: India vs England 2nd Test Day 4Smith’s innings set a new record for the highest score by an England wicketkeeper in Tests, coming at a crucial moment in the match against India.“I didn’t really have too much time to think. I think everything happened so quickly, being a hat-trick ball. I actually said to Brooky at the time, ‘Is it a hat-trick ball?’ I didn’t even know he’d got out first ball,” Smith told Sky Sports before day four’s play.Smith explained his batting approach during his impressive innings, highlighting the favorable batting conditions he had observed while keeping wickets.
“I knew it was a good wicket having stood behind the stumps for 150 overs and it was about putting India under pressure. In that situation you can prod and poke a bit and get bowled out for 200 but I didn’t think that was the way to go about things.”“It was about putting my foot down and showing we can push back from any situation. You have those days, very few in a season, where everything seems to hit the middle of the bat. Your inside edges weren’t going on to the stumps, your outside edges went into gaps. You have to ride that and keep things simple.”
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Despite the strong partnership between Smith and Brook, India maintained control of the match, securing a 180-run lead before reaching 64/1 in 13 overs at stumps on day three, extending their lead to 244 runs.Smith reflected on the unusual nature of the Test match and the playing conditions.“It’s been a strange Test, some big scores and some low scores. The majority of wickets have been taken by the new ball and then the pitch gets nice to bat on. India got a bit away from us last night but we were hunting for wickets – we don’t want to let the game drift.”
