Smith to bat at three in England’s Champions Trophy opener

In England’s Champions Trophy opener against Australia on Saturday, wicketkeeper Jamie Smith will bat at number three.

Smith, 24, has only batted in the position once in professional 50-over cricket. Additionally, he’ll hand Phil Salt the gloves.

Joe Root drops to number four while Ben Duckett continues to lead.

Mark Wood and Jofra Archer’s three-strong pace attack also features Durham’s Brydon Carse, who also has a toe injury.

While Smith’s selection is not a surprise, his promotion to number three is given his limited experience.

In his seven previous one-day internationals, he has not batted higher than five, and Surrey’s only previous 50-over performance against Kent in 2019 was his highest-overs performance.

The wicketkeeper has impressed since making his Test debut with the New Zealander in July, according to coach Brendon McCullum.

Smith set up the 50-over series against Australia at the end of the summer, the first since McCullum was hired as white-ball coach, after scoring his first Test hundred against Sri Lanka in August.

He led Salt, who later won the gloves in India, by scoring 124 runs with a high score of 49 in those five matches.

With his selection, Liam Livingstone and Joe Root will have the honor of playing their fifth bowl for England.

In Ahmedabad last week’s third ODI, they returned results of 1-104 in 13 overs.

World champions Australia are yet to name their starting lineup, but they will miss out on the tournament due to the absence of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, and all three of their renowned pace trio, Pat Cummins.

After losing their previous four ODI series, including the 3-0 defeat by India, spinner Adil Rashid said that England believe they can win the title.