Steve Smith revisits 'tricky and tough' 2019 Ashes battle with Jofra Archer at Lord's

New Delhi, Oct 31 (IANS) Australia batter Steve Smith has revisited one of the most dramatic duels in modern Test cricket — his unforgettable clash with England speedster Jofra Archer during the 2019 Ashes at Lord’s. Speaking on Fox Cricket’s The Howie Games podcast with Mark Howard, Smith opened up about the fierce contest that left him bruised and concussed, but ultimately cemented his legend in Ashes folklore.

“It was dark and overcast. It was pretty challenging,” Smith recalled. “Obviously, it was his first Test match. I’m sure he was up and about. He was quite quick that spell. It was tricky. I was trying to find a way to navigate through it. The wicket was tough. I was trying to find a way to play it with the variable bounce. It was hard work.”

Smith, unbeaten on 80 at the time, was struck twice by Archer — first on the arm, then on the neck — forcing him to retire hurt. The incident brought Lord’s to a standstill and marked the birth of one of cricket’s fiercest on-field rivalries.

“He obviously hit me on the arm, which hurt quite a bit,” Smith said. “From there, I was actually in quite a bit of pain. I was struggling to get my hands up. Then it was trying to navigate through an up-and-down wicket. Overcast conditions, pace, sore arm. Then he obviously hit me on the neck. He was bowling quickly on an up-and-down wicket.”

Despite the painful blow, Smith was cleared to return after a brief medical assessment. “When I came off, I was feeling alright after getting hit,” he said. “It was more of a bit of shock to begin with. I was okay, I felt fine. I passed all the tests for the concussion, so I could come back out and bat. It wasn’t ideal at that stage, but it was a nice little battle.”

When he returned to the crease, Smith was met with a mixture of applause and boos from the Lord’s crowd. He struck a couple of crisp boundaries off Chris Woakes before being trapped LBW for 92 — a rare dismissal in which Smith later admitted his judgment had been clouded.

“I was obviously struggling a bit with my arm at that stage, so that was probably weighing on my mind more than anything else,” he said. “I was in a bit of pain, I think I slogged one off Woakes, played one of the best back-foot punches I’d ever hit. And then maybe the concussion symptoms were kicking in then because I left one on the middle stump. (Woakes) bowled me a beautiful in-swinger, actually, I’d never seen it from him before. I was normally lining him up to balls going away or straight, and he bowled me an in-swinger. It was the first time I’d seen it from him. I reviewed it because I was the last batsman, but I knew I was dead. Maybe the symptoms came in a little early,” he added.

Later that evening, Smith began to feel the delayed effects of the blow. “When all my adrenaline went out of my system later that night was when I started to get some symptoms and feel pretty ordinary,” he admitted. “It felt like I’d had ten beers, which obviously isn’t a good sign.” He was ruled out of the third Test at Headingley under concussion protocols and replaced by Marnus Labuschagne — who, famously, went on to cement his own Test career from that point.

Despite missing a match, Smith still finished the 2019 Ashes as the leading run-scorer with 774 runs at an astonishing average of 110.57. His comeback from the ball-tampering ban had already been the talk of world cricket, but that series elevated him to mythical status.

“I went to another level in the way I was playing,” Smith reflected. “We played on a few wickets where there was quite a bit going on, and it was tricky, and I was able to navigate through different situations, particularly that first Test. That was a huge moment for me. Obviously, I’d been out for a year and didn’t know that I was even going to come back into the team, let alone score another hundred. I felt like I was batting really nicely and to back it up with my second hundred in that game as well, something I’d never done before and haven’t done since, was pretty cool as well.”

In 20 Ashes Tests since his debut, Smith has scored 3417 runs at an average of 56.01, with 12 centuries — second only to Sir Donald Bradman’s 19.

“It’s cool to look back and know that I’ve been able to have an impact in some of the big series,” he said. “I like to stand up and try to help the team have success in those series. To be able to have produced some good numbers over the period has been pleasing. And I’m sure I’ll be able to look back when I finish playing and be proud of what I’ve been able to do.”

The upcoming Ashes series, starting November 21 at Perth Stadium, will once again see Smith in the battle against Archer.

--IANS

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