England will next face New Zealand for a three-match Test series at home.
With just nine days to go for the IPL 2026, star England wicketkeeper-batter Jamie Smith has opened up on going unsold in the mini auction of the tournament in December 2025. The 25-year-old wanted to experience his maiden season in the league. Notably, the gloveman had a decent debut season for the London Spirit in the previous edition of The Hundred.
He put up 203 runs in seven fixtures, striking at a blistering rate of 170.58. Following the noteworthy show, Jamie was pre-signed by the Southern Brave for The Hundred 2026. However, the batter emphasised how the IPL 2026 snub has helped him to focus on his red-ball game following a disappointing Ashes tour.
“At the time, I would have definitely liked to have gone [to the IPL]. I see the IPL as something that can really enhance the white-ball side and does have benefits again to the red-ball. But in hindsight, it’s fantastic to come here and have a block of red-ball [cricket] behind me. I felt that towards the back end of the summer and into the winter, technically, I felt a little bit out of kilter,” he said to ESPN Cricinfo.
The batter had a great outing in the home five-Test series against India last summer, scoring 434 runs, laced with two half-centuries and an unbeaten 184 in the second fixture at Edgbaston. But he could not continue a similar form in his maiden Ashes tour down under, managing only 211 runs in five appearances, averaging just 23.44.
“The India series was physically and mentally very tough. It was my first five-Test series and all the Tests lasted [five days]. By the end, it was just actual exhaustion. From there, the learning was, how can you make sure that from the first to the last game, your standards are still as high as possible?” noted Jamie.
“It was similar in Australia. A few of the games didn’t last as long as people were expecting or wanting, but again, I don’t feel like my standards were down too much,” added the player.
While lauding the opponents as a “world-class” side, the youngster has also acknowledged the key takeaways from the red-ball tour of Australia.
“I would have loved to have put some more returns there across five games for us to win a few more games, but the reality is that didn’t happen, and I didn’t play as well as I wanted to or was required for the team. It’s obviously disappointing, but you can take that as a learning experience,” observed Jamie.
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The coach-captain pair of Brandon McCullum and Harry Brook will have a huge test in the forthcoming red-ball series at home against the inaugural World Test Championship (WTC) winners, New Zealand, starting on June 4.
After a 2-2 series draw facing India on home soil, followed by a humiliating Ashes tour, the three-match rubber could prove to be their final chance to stay alive in the ongoing WTC cycle. Currently, the team is placed seventh with just three victories, six defeats, and a draw out of 10 fixtures.
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