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Michael Vaughan reckons Jamie Smith's presence in the middle will be Sri Lanka's biggest concern heading into the third day of the first Test against England. He lauded the wicketkeeper-batter and Harry Brook for making batting look easy on a slightly tough Old Trafford pitch.
Smith scored an unbeaten 72 off 97 deliveries as England ended Day 2 on Thursday, August 22, at 259/6. They have a first-innings lead of 23, having dismissed the Lankan Lions for 236 on the first day.
Reviewing the game on BBC Test Match Special, Vaughan opined that Smith could pose the biggest threat to Sri Lanka.
"The problem for Sri Lanka is Jamie Smith and he is a serious player. He is making Test match cricket look very, very simple from the minute that he walks out there, very similar to Harry Brook actually," he said.
The former England captain pointed out that Smith and Brook, especially the latter, looked at ease the moment they walked to the crease.
"We are always talking in cricket that when players go out there, it might take them 20-30 balls to get in. I think those two, in particular Harry Brook, he seems to be in when he walks out there. Facing the first ball, he will bump one down the ground, look very busy," Vaughan elaborated.
"It's almost as if he is gathering information when he is waiting to bat. So when the time he comes out there, he has got loads in the computer, and he just knows what's going to happen, and he plays beautifully," he added.
Brook scored 56 runs off 73 deliveries with the help of four fours. He was castled by a sharp-turning delivery from Prabath Jayasuriya.
"If he bats an hour or so tomorrow morning, they will get a hundred in front" - Michael Vaughan on Jamie Smith
Michael Vaughan pointed out Jamie Smith could take the game virtually beyond Sri Lanka's reach if he bats for around an hour on the third morning.
"Jamie Smith is of the same kind of ilk. They are just making batting look very, very simple. Smith is the real problem for Sri Lanka because if he bats an hour or so tomorrow morning, they will get a hundred in front, and that on this kind of wicket will be a decent lead," he said in the same discussion.
Smith is playing just his fourth Test. The dashing wicketkeeper-batter has amassed 279 runs at an average of 69.75 in five innings, including the ongoing knock, in the longest format.
