Smith seizes his chance in style

Greg Smith made the most of his late call-up to the England Under-19 side by hitting an unbeaten century in the first Test against New Zealand at Taunton.

The Leicestershire batsman was drafted into the side only after Jack Manuel sustained an ankle injury during practice on the eve of the game.

But he wasted little time in making his claims for a permanent place with a superb innings of 123 not out as England closed the first day on a commanding 305 for three.

England Under-19s line up ahead of the first Test

He shared a mammoth unbroken stand of 252 for the fourth wicket with Dan Redfern, who continued his fine form for the U19s with a stunning century of his own.

He will resume tomorrow on 130, with the pair just 15 runs away from bettering the U19 record partnership – the 266 put on by Matt Dowman and Rob Cunliffe against West Indies in 1993.

Redfern and Smith’s innings were all the more impressive given that they came together with England tottering on 53 for three after they won the toss and chose to bat first.

But New Zealand, who beat England Under-17s in a one-day warm-up game last week, were to enjoy no further success with the ball as Redfern and Smith cut loose.

Derbyshire’s Redfern was the more aggressive of the two, hitting 13 fours en route to a 174-ball hundred, while Smith managed the same number of boundaries but required 27 more deliveries to reach the landmark.