Jamie Smith and Harry Brook rescue England with stunning stand against India

Independent

a day ago

Jamie Smith and Harry Brook hit fearless centuries as England bounced back from the brink with a stunning partnership on day three of the second Rothesay Test against India.
The hosts were plunged into dire trouble in the second over of the morning at Edgbaston, Joe Root and Ben Stokes falling to successive deliveries to leave them 84 for five and more than 500 runs adrift.
But Smith tore into the tourists with abandon, blitzing an 80-ball ton and reaching 157 not out while Brook chalked up an unbeaten 140 at the other end.
Their sixth-wicket stand of 271 took England to 355 for five at tea, a game-changing contribution that somehow transformed India's early dominance into defensiveness.
After shipping 172 in the morning – an unthinkable outcome when Mohammed Siraj rocked the home side by removing their best player and captain with his third and fourth deliveries – they kept England to 106 in the second but there was an abundance of caution in their approach given a huge lead, which still stood at 232 by the break.
It was a day to savour for Smith in particular, his second Test century destined to be remembered as a classic. He came to the crease with heavy sense of nervous tension in the air and punctured the gloomy atmosphere by stroking Siraj's hat-trick ball for four past mid-on.
There were 13 more fours and three big sixes on his way to three figures, with his century going down as the joint third fastest by an Englishman.
Brook is the man he shares that spot with and his ninth hundred was an admirably controlled affair following his skittish start on Thursday evening.
Root would have been kicking himself for missing out on a big score of his own, following a delivery that snaked down leg and edging it to wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant.
But Stokes could have no such regrets about his career-first golden duck, beaten all ends up by a brutal lifter from Siraj and gloving behind.
The heat was on England but neither Brook nor Smith appeared to feel it. Smith was on his game immediately, hitting hard and finding gaps in a rampant start.
Brook leaned into a couple of drives and, in the blink of an eye, the pair had added 50. Prasidh Krishna thought he could unsettle Smith with the short ball and lost the battle by knockout, Smith hammering a single over for 23 including four fours and a six.
Gilbert Jessop's fabled 123-year-old record for England's fastest Test hundred was in Smith's sights as he hit Washington Sundar's first two balls wide of mid-off for four and hit Ravindra Jadeja for six on the charge. In the end he was four slower than Jessop's 76-ball mark, getting over the line with two more boundaries in the last over before lunch.
Brook had been 30 not out overnight but was happy to let his partner overtake, reaching his own century after the restart with a steer to deep third. After getting out on 99 in the first Test, he made sure not to miss out again.
India made a tactical retreat, bowling well wide of off stump for long passages and spreading the field. Brook was tempted into a couple of risky shots but eventually decided to settle in and Smith survived one tough chance when he nicked Nitish Kumar Reddy just wide of Pant's glove.
A barrage of reverse sweeps from Brook gave England's tally a boost in the run-up to tea, leaving India fresh questions to answer in the evening session.