Jamie dodger

SMITH DENIED HEROIC FIRST TON AS JOE HITS 12K

- NEIL MOXLEY

JAMIE SMITH fell agonisingly short of a century after leading England's Great Edgbaston Escape.

The keeper was at the heart of a gritty fightback as Ben Stokes' men dragged themselves back from the brink.

The lower middle order added 322 runs for the final five wickets as the stuffing was well and truly knocked out of the Windies.

And two quick wickets in the final hour have left England with the scent of victory.

But all this looked a world away when a horrible halfhour on Friday night was followed by a similarly shoddy opening 30 minutes yesterday.

The early losses of Ollie Pope and Harry Brook left England 54-5 but Stokes (54) and Joe Root (87) set about repairing the damage and then Smith took over with a forthright, nononsense and powerful show.

He was given further support by Chris Woakes (62) as the Windies wilted.