Jamie Smith

Jamie Smith took over as England's Test wicketkeeper in 2024 and made an immediate impression with his counterattacking batting and tidy glovework. He made a first hundred against Sri Lanka in only his fifth innings, after demonstrating his range in innings of 70 and 95 against West Indies, where he hit one six onto St John's Wood Road on debut at Lord's, and another over the Hollies Stand at Edgbaston. It was not long before he had won opportunities across formats, transformed into an attacking white-ball opener by Brendon McCullum.

Smith fell into cricket when he was dropped off at a summer camp at Sutton CC by his parents, and decided to give the sport his full focus when AFC Wimbledon released him at 15. He was a sports scholar at Whitgift School in Croydon and made his professional debut a week before his 18th birthday in a T20 Blast game at Lord's. He confirmed that he was a player to watch the following year, making 90 and 104 in an Under-19 Test in Chattogram before cruising to 127 in his maiden first-class innings against a strong MCC attack in Abu Dhabi. It earned him a run in the Surrey first team, and he even captained in the One-Day Cup in 2021.

It was during the 2022-23 winter that he was first mentioned as a potential England player, catching Ben Stokes' eye with an extraordinary 71-ball hundred for England Lions against Sri Lanka A in Galle. He continued to make strong progress at county level, made his ODI debut in an end-of-season match against Ireland the following summer, and was picked ahead of Jonny Bairstow and Ben Foakes as wicketkeeper at the start of the 2024 Test summer. Smith underlined his ability with a remarkable 184 not out against India the following year, coming in at 84 for 5 before adding 303 with Harry Brook at Edgbaston, though he faded as the series wore on.

McCullum saw a player who could dominate across formats, and Smith showed glimpses of his ability in white-ball cricket in 2025 after a quiet Champions Trophy. He has also played franchise cricket in the ILT20, and impressed in the Hundred for both Birmingham Phoenix and London Spirit.