Smith stars after Root leads England recovery against the West Indies
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Jamie Smith fell agonisingly short of a maiden Test hundred as England fought back from a top-order collapse to eye a series clean sweep of the West Indies at Edgbaston on Saturday.
England, in dire straits at 54-5 early on the second day of the third Test, recovered to make 376 in reply to the West Indies' first-innings 282, with wicketkeeper Smith out for 95.
And at stumps the West Indies were 33-2 in their second innings, still 61 runs behind, with England already 2-0 ahead in a three-match series.
"We didn't start with the bat the way we wanted to and a lot has been spoken about how good a surface (pitch) it is," Smith told Sky Sports after stumps.
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He added: "Always gutted when you're five runs away (from a hundred) but I'm pretty proud of the way I've played there and there was a lot of risk taken.
"We built some nice partnerships there and to be 54-5 and end up with a healthy lead, we're happy with that."
When England lost Ollie Pope and Harry Brook cheaply earlier in the day, a first-innings lead certainly looked unlikely.
But England captains past and present in Joe Root (87) and Ben Stokes (54) turned the tide in a sixth-wicket partnership of 115.
Smith, in only his third Test, then continued to take a toll on the West Indies' attack as he put on 106 for the eighth wicket with Chris Woakes, who made 62 on his Warwickshire home ground.
