The youngest wicketkeeper to score a Test century for England, Jamie Smith was thrown a curly one early on his first Ashes tour when an Australian reporter lobbed a Jonny Bairstow-themed hypothetical at Tuesday’s official launch inside Optus Stadium.

Smith, England’s incumbent gloveman, was asked what he would have done if he had been Alex Carey and saw Bairstow wandering out of his crease, moments before that infamous 2023 stumping .

“I think out here in Australia, with the pace and bounce, I’d be too far back to hit the stumps,” Smith said, surrounded by a scrum of reporters and outstretched phones. “In a white-ball game, I’m useless at it. I wouldn’t even hit the stumps anyway.”

The door was left ajar for the Surrey product to call for a good old-fashioned Ashes square-up, but the

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