Mark Butcher has questioned the decision for Jamie Smith to miss part of England’s upcoming tour of New Zealand to attend the birth of his child, insisting he would not have given up his spot in similar circumstances.
Smith, 24, made his Test debut against the West Indies back in July and has gone on to establish himself as one of the most exciting young talents in world cricket with a string of swashbuckling performances.
Having racked up three 50s and a century in his opening eight matches in the Test arena, the wicket-keeper-batsman appeared on course for his second ton against Pakistan this morning, only to be caught out on 89.
But Brendon McCullum has confirmed Smith is likely be absent for the start of England’s three-match series in New Zealand, beginning next month, with Kent’s Jordan Cox in line to make his debut.
Smith is set to travel with the rest of England’s squad to Christchurch for the first contest before returning home to be with his partner for the birth of his first child.
‘I think at this stage it looks like Jamie will probably play the first one and may miss the next two. We’re not sure, it’s sort of up to Mother Nature a little bit,’ England head coach McCullum explained.
‘New Zealand is a comfortable place to wicket-keep and it would be great to have a look at Jordan Cox as well. His keeping is solid.
‘I’ve done a bit of work with him over the last little while. He’s natural at everything he does.
‘He’s actually annoyingly good at everything he does, particularly on the golf course.
‘He’s one of those guys that you look at and say he’s got a high ceiling in terms of talent, particularly with bat in hand, and there’s a fair chance that he’ll get the opportunity in New Zealand, if Jamie does return home, to bat down the order and take the gloves.’
Butcher has been blown away by Smith’s start in Test cricket and is confident the Surrey man has been given assurances over his place, with Cox set to take the gloves in New Zealand.
But the ex-England batter – speaking on the Wisden Cricket podcast – said he would not have given up his spot as ‘lightly’ during his playing days.
‘I guess this is just my generation, I suppose,’ Butcher said.
‘But having just got into the Test-match side, I know it’s the birth of your first child and everything, but I would not be giving up my spot for anybody if I was Jamie Smith.
‘But that’s just the way things are in the modern game. Jamie Smith probably feels and has probably been assured that the likelihood is, whatever happens with Jordan Cox, he is going to be the number one pick.
‘But my goodness me! Giving plenty of people chances to nick your spot is not something you’d give up lightly back in the old days.’
Butcher has been impressed by what he’s seen from Cox and believes the Kent star has a similar ‘self-confidence’ to Smith with bat in hand.
‘He’s an incredibly talented young player that has a lot of time, really sharp footwork, has all the modern player’s tricks and weight of shot,’ he added.
‘But also, he’s supremely confident as well as a human being.
‘In much the way that people were a little bit surprised by Jamie Smith and his constant self-confidence and his ability to project that when playing, Jordan Cox has that in spades as well.’
Butcher continued: ‘I England weigh it up around what they’re going to get, what the likelihood of catastrophic wicket-keeping errors are going to versus what the upside is of a player in the batting order that can score runs, either at a rate or with the tail in a way that somebody like Ben Foakes does not have the ability to do.
‘I think that’s always the calculation and when it comes to Jamie Smith, you barely noticed the difference between Ben Foakes and Smith. He’s hardly put a foot wrong in the Test cricket he’s played so far, so competent has he been with the gloves.
‘England will hope that Cox has a very similar introduction into it in that you’re not noticing his wicket-keeping because it is competent to a level whereby you’re not having any massive mistakes and he’s performing with the bat in a way that will help to win you Test matches.
‘That, for them, is always going to be the balance.’
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