Pundits were united in their criticism of England wicketkeeper Jamie Smith’s dismissal, caught at deep cover just before lunch on the second day at the Sydney Cricket Ground off the bowling of part-timer Marnus Labuschagne.
The wicket came with five overs to go until the second new ball, with Smith having added 94 with Joe Root until that point. The gloveman had lived a charmed life to that point, caught off a Cameron Green no-ball and edging between keeper and slip a ball later, but continued to play aggressively.
The timing and manner of the dismissal meant Smith was instantly under fire, continuing a pattern of poor dismissals. There were some similarities to his dismissal at Adelaide, when a big shot again left the tail exposed to the second new ball. Then he attacked soon after the new ball had been taken, aiming a big shot at Mitchell Starc with England chasing a record total to stay alive in the series and skying an easy chance.
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5th Test, Australia vs England
Jamie Smith under fire following Sydney dismissal
“Not for the first time this series, Jamie Smith has played one of the dumbest shots you’ll ever see in Test cricket,” said former Australia head coach Justin Langer on 7Cricket, while Jonathan Agnew, on BBC Test Match Special, labelled it “one of the worst dismissals I’ve ever seen”.
“There are literally no words,” added Alastair Cook on TNT Sports. “How many times do you hear a modern player go, ‘this is the way I play’?
“It was a terrible shot. Not only the actual shot, trying to clear a man three quarters of the way back, so he wasn’t trying to hit a gap, but also, Marnus Labuschagne was bowling, there’s a new ball just round the corner, you’ve got one of the best batters ever in the world at the other end 130 not out. You’ve had two lives. There’s no words to describe it.
“What could you be facing? You could be facing Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon ragging it square. No, you’re facing Marnus Labuschagne. This is when as a batsman, this is it, you’ve done all the hard work, and he’s already had two lives already. I don’t want to one of those pundits who sits on the other side of the fence saying, ‘I told you so’, but I’m doing it know because it’s just a terrible, terrible shot.”
Like several of England’s batters, Smith has struggled this series, averaging 23 with one half-century. He endured a miserable Test at the Gabba, dropping an early chance and enduring ironic cheers from the home crowd for the rest of the innings while making 0 and 4 in the game. Up until the Ashes, he had enjoyed a successful start to his Test career, named a Wisden Cricketer of the Year for his early forays in the 2024 summer and making a century before lunch against India in the 2025 summer. His is likely to be one of several positions under scrutiny heading into the Ashes post-mortem.
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