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Jamie Smith became the second debutant in a matter of days to make his mark on England’s newly formed Test team, scoring a brilliant 70 against the defeated West Indies at Lord’s.

After fellow newcomer Gus Atkinson took seven wickets in the first innings, Smith came on in style as the hosts moved into a match-winning position after two days.

His powerful performance at No. 7 helped England to a total of 371, a dominating lead of 250 and the perfect base to apply serious pressure with the ball.

The tourists reacted violently and collapsed to 6-79, making an innings defeat on Friday virtually certain.

This included two wickets for James Anderson, taking his total to 703, five fewer than Shane Warne’s.

However, Atkinson dismissed Jason Holder with the last ball of the day, leaving Warne’s target out of reach for Anderson.

Smith overtook 100-cap veteran Jonny Bairstow and his Surrey teammate Ben Foakes to be named in the new XI as England began rebuilding ahead of the 2025/26 Ashes series.

He came to bat after Harry Brook (50) helped Joe Root (68) extend England’s overnight lead from 68 to 133.

The 23-year-old hit eight fours and two powerful sixes in an eye-catching cameo that justified the selection committee’s trust.

He demonstrated fine technique in a reasonable stand of 52 with Chris Woakes and then quickly shifted up a gear as the tail-ender joined him, scoring his final 28 runs from 30 balls and sweeping Jayden Seales out of the field with a brutal pull.

“I’ve always worked towards playing for England so I’m just taking it all in,” said Smith. “I’ve really enjoyed it so far. It’s the most incredible feeling to have the support of the whole team to go out there and perform.”

By the time Smith last took to the field, it was already clear that the West Indies were not good enough. The tourists’ last Test was the memorable win in Brisbane in January and they had a warm-up game in England.

They showed flashes of ability: Gudakesh Motie knocked Ben Stokes’ ball out of the rough and sent it spinning wildly, Mikyle Louis fielded superbly to dismiss Shoaib Bashir, but as a unit they fell well short of the required standard.

Only Holder (20) and Alick Athanaze (22) managed to bat again and get past the ten-over mark. After Anderson made the breakthrough and sent captain Kraigg Brathwaite (4) off with a goal, it was Ben Stokes’ turn.

By getting Kirk McKenzie LBW for a duck, he became the third player, after Caribbean star Sir Garfield Sobers and South African star Jacques Kallis, to reach the double milestone of 200 Test wickets and 6,000 Test runs.

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