England lost big in Birmingham but Jamie Smith stood tall and broke THIS 20th century record

England may have lost the Birmingham Test to India by 336 runs but the margin could very well have been more, even an innings loss was not out of the picture but Jamie Smith stood tall. The England wicketkeeper-batter scored a counterattacking 184 not out in the first innings and 88 in the second - a total of 272 runs out of England's match total of 677 which is about 40 per cent runs. Smith came on to bat with England five down for about 80-odd in both the innings and stopped the free fall Three Lions were going through but alas, the efforts went in vain at last.

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With 184 not out in the first innings, Smith now has the highest individual Test score by a wicketkeeper-batter for England. He surpassed great Alec Stewart's 173 for the record which Stewart had scored against New Zealand in 1997 at Auckland. His aggregate of 272 runs is also the highest for England as a designated wicketkeeper-batter. Smith again went past Stewart for the record who had scored 204 runs (40 and 164) against South Africa in Manchester in a 1998 Test. Smith's batting, while aggressive, was full of assurance and control which makes him even dangerous to bowl at.

Against India, Smith's 184 not out in the first innings is the second highest individual Test score by a wicketkeeper-batter ever. The record of highest score by a wicketkeeper-batter against India remains intact with Zimbabwe's Andy Flower who had scored 232 not out during the Nagpur Test in 2000. Smith's aggregate of 272 in the Birmingham Test is also second most behind Flower's 287 which the latter had scored in the same Nagpur Test. Smith may have broken both these records if he had a little more support from other batters, especially in the first innings where six England batters registered a duck.