"He's a phenomenal player": Harry Brook hails Jamie Smith for his heroic 184 against India

Birmingham [UK], July 5 (ANI): England batter Harry Brook said that playing with Jamie Smith was enjoyable and that Smith's aggressive approach helped shift the momentum in the first innings for the Three Lions on Day 3 of the first test against India at Edgbaston, Birmingham.
Harry Brook and Jamie Smith toppled multiple records by scripting a 303-run stand on the third day of the second Test against India at Edgbaston on Friday.
There were many threes in the sizzling partnership between Brook and Smith, which left the spectators mesmerised. 'Bazball' reigned supreme as Brook and Smith's rescue act pulled England back from 84/5 to 387/6.
Speaking in the post-match presentation, Harry Brook said, "Obviously it was good fun being out there with Smith, he's a phenomenal player and to put on a 300 partnership with him, it was good to be out there. The way that he came out of the blocks today and put the pressure back on their ball was phenomenal, he tried to change the momentum back in our favour and it worked for a long period of time."
Brook and Smith's memorable 303-run stand was the third 300-plus stand for the sixth wicket or lower for England in Tests after 399 between Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow (against South Africa, Cape Town, 2016) and 332 between Jonathan Trott and Stuart Broad (against Pakistan, Lord's, 2010).
Remarkably, it was also the third 300-plus partnership for England against India for any wicket after 350 between Ian Bell and Kevin Pietersen (The Oval, 2011) and 308 between Graham Gooch and Allan Lamb (Lord's, 1990).
Smith and Brook became the third pair to orchestrate a 300-plus stand for the sixth wicket (or lower) after the team was down wickets for less than a score of 100 in the history of Test cricket. The previous two came in historic contests that date back to 1937 and 2014.
Brook praised Smith's innings of 184 and said, "It was awesome, it was so good to watch from the other end as well, I felt like he could hit four or six every ball and I was just trying to get him on strike."
England's wicketkeeper/batter Jamie Smith scripts history as he slams the highest score (184*) by a wicketkeeper for the Three Lions in a Test.
He surpassed former England wicketkeeper/batter Alec Stewart, who smashed 173 against New Zealand in 1997.
Smith now has the highest Test score from No.7 or lower for England, surpassing KS Ranjitsinhji's 175 against Australia (SCG, 1897).
He also brought up his century in just 80 balls, equalling the third-fastest Test hundred by an England batter, alongside Brook's effort against Pakistan in 2022.
Coming to the match, Mohammed Siraj grabbed six wickets as India bowled out England for 407 runs, taking a first-innings lead of 180 runs in the first innings of the second test at Edgbaston, Birmingham.
Akash Deep also helped India's cause with four wickets to his name. Before the end of the day play, India lost Yashasvi Jaiswal for 28. Rahul 28* and Karun Nair 7* stand tall on the crease as India finished Day 3 on 64/1, leading by 244.
Brief score: India: 587 (Shubman Gill 269, Ravindra Jadeja 89, Shoaib Bashir 3/167) against England: 407 ( Jamie Smith 184*, Harry Brook 158; Mohammed Siraj 6/70/). India 64/1 (KL Rahul 28*, Yashasvi Jaiswal 28; Josh Tongue 1/12). (ANI)