It hasn’t been an easy first tour for Jamie Smith, but – with a series on the line and his team in trouble – he answered England’s call on a chaotic opening day of this third Test decider.

When Ben Stokes urged Sajid Khan to slip just after lunch, sparking the ‘kabbadi’ celebration that Pakistan hope will define this series, England were 118 for six on a pitch showing alarming levels of uneven bounce and turn so early in the – a Test.

But Smith and his Surrey team-mate Gus Atkinson spent the next hour and a half giving England a better than fighting chance – Smith hitting six sixes off the Pakistani spinners during a pulsating 89, Atkinson peeling off some drives high class in a mature game. 39.

Under normal circumstances, a total of 267 would be neither here nor there, but the lane has been cut to help spin – at least that’s the polite way of putting it – and Pakistan will have to bat last. The 105 added by Smith and Atkinson could grow in stature as the game wears on.

Sure enough, through the stumps, the home side slipped to 73 for three, with England’s spinners making the ball disrupt the top of the surface.

Jamie Smith smashed England to a respectable 267 after coming in at 62 for six after a middle-order collapse

Smith’s display of nerveless brutality and his ice-cold temper are in England with a shout

Meanwhile, Pakistan will be hoping that Sajid Khan’s ‘kabbadi’ celebration will define the series

So confident was Shoaib Bashir that he had caught Abdullah Shafique in front that he embarked on a Stuart Broad-style “call of celebration” before umpire Chris Gaffaney raised the finger and Jack Leach made Saim Ayub chipped gently at short midwicket – the 15th wicket in a superb. comeback series.

When Gus Atkinson was brought back to bowl in just the third over of the day, he pinched one through the wicket of a surprised Kamran Ghulam – a centurion on debut last week, now bowled for three.

But mainly because of Smith, England are in a shout as at one point they went down with a whimper. Aged just 24 and in just his ninth Test, he has already established a reputation for nerveless brutality. Throw in an ice-cold temperament and a natural ability to read a game and solve problems, and the ingredients are all there.

His best Test so far came against Sri Lanka in Manchester where he followed up his first innings hundred with a cameo 39 to break the back of a difficult chase. But this was better, saving England from the sort of collapse that would have squandered the advantage of winning their first toss in eight Tests.

He was cautious initially, a welcome antidote to the strong frenzy of the morning, then calculated, launching Sajid’s off-spin for four sixes and Zahid Mahmood’s leg break for two as the ball grew softer and Pakistan began to doubt themselves. .

He thought he had a seventh six as well, only for the four field markers to insist that a hard chance parried to the boundary by Saud Shakeel was flagged as a four instead. Apparently departing with 91 to his name after miscuing a Mahmood sweep, Smith later had to settle for 89.

Regardless: this was the performance of a serious talent, and one good enough to bat regularly in the top six if Stokes ever decides that his greatest value to the team will come from turning himself into a counter-attacking No. 7.

Smith has shown his elders and betters the way on a pitch that has been prepared with the help of giant fans, court heaters and sharp rakes and may still convince ICC match referee Richie Richardson to take action. Even Pakistan coach Jason Gillespie was unhappy about it all.

The land was prepared with the help of giant fans, patio heaters and sharp rakes

Jack Leach played brilliantly in his comeback tour and has now taken 15 wickets in Pakistan

Richardson is understood to have been unhappy with the decision to use the same pitch for the two Multan Tests, so God knows what he did with the ball from left-arm spinner Noman Ali, which barely left the ground before catching Ben Duckett lbw for 52.

But if Duckett was unlucky to land one of the sporadic pea-shooters that should earn Rawalpindi the censure from the game’s governing body, the rest of England’s top order traded errors one after the other as the two spinners who claimed all 20 wickets last week played unchanged until lunch and beyond.

Zak Crawley bowled it after a promising opening stand of 56, forcing Noman Ali to score for 29, before Ollie Pope – increasingly at sea this trip – was leggy before as three try to sweep Sajid.

Last week, Joe Root fell twice in the sweep, while Harry Brook played fatally twice. As if to make amends, Root stayed back to Sajid and was hit in front by a big break while Brook advanced well and was thrown behind leg trying to sweep.

England had barely digested lunch when Stokes’ wicket took them to six for 62. But Smith heeded the advice of those who had already come and gone, not least Duckett’s suggestion that the pitch was not conducive to sweeps.

“When Ben Duckett says it’s hard to sweep, then it’s probably close to impossible,” Smith said. “I took it on board and tried to put it away as much as possible. He was a bit more selective. I just see the pitch getting worse, especially with the low bounce.’

Smith refused to panic before executing the six-hit contest he had enlivened the day before

Above all, Smith refused to panic, before putting into practice the six-hit contest that enlivened practice the day before, while Akinson justified his place in the order above Rehan Ahmed at no. 8.

Sajid finished the innings to add six wickets to the nine he took in the second Test at Multan and later accused England of helping him with some free-kicks. They won’t be the last in a game that has already become a bonfight.