Star Australian batter Steve Smith opened up about the 2019 Ashes series, where he was rattled by a fiery bouncer by the England Speedster Jofra Archer in his debut test in Lord’s Test. The prolific Australian batter could not further take part in the game as Marnus Labuschagne replaced him as the first concussion substitute in cricket history.
Smith returned to bat in the first innings after sustaining a concussion, he couldn’t do so in the second. The duel between Jofra Archer and Steve Smith was one of the most riveting in the 2019 Ashes series as unsettled the Australian Test batter with plenty of short-pitched balls throughout the series.
Speaking on the Legend of the Ashes Podcast, Steve Smith spoke about his duel with the Jofra Archer in the 2nd test of the 2019 Ashes series, where he found it difficult to battle against the Jofra Archer and revealed that he could not quite play well in the middle, as it was like having dozen of beers at a go.
“It was a very difficult period to get through. I caught one on the arm and got away with a few pull shots that are top edge and a couple in the gaps. And then I copped one in the back of the head, which hurt a fair bit,” he added.
“At that stage, I didn’t realize I was getting concussed. I went off and did all the tests, and passed all the tests. It wasn’t until I came back out. Half an hour after, when the adrenalin sort of went out of my system and I started to feel quite groggy, probably like I’d had a dozen beers, to be honest,” Steve Smith said
Jofra Archer made a name for himself in International Cricket through this series as the England speedster troubled Smith with his bouncers during that series and the England pacer picked up 22 wickets in four Tests during Ashes 2019, which ended in a tie.
It Was Just A Day, I Wasn’t Quite Seeing The Ball… – Steve Smith Recalls The 2019 Ashes Series
Steve Smith recollected that Day in the Lords of the Second test, as the weather was a little dark when he was batting in the middle with Jofra Archer coming in all guns blazing against him and revealed that usually it difficult to pick the balls from the members’ end, as they few distractions in the ground.
“It was quite a dark, gloomy day. The clouds were rolling in and out. Lord’s itself can be a little difficult when they are bowling from the members’ end, with the members sitting there and the sightscreen not as big as at other grounds. There were a few distractions there, and it was just a day (when) I wasn’t quite seeing the ball as well as I would have liked from that end,” Steve Smith added.
Steve Smith will be gearing up for the second game against England, as he had a poor game 1st game against England in Edgbaston, but the Australian team performed well to take up the lead 1-0 in the Ashes 2023. They would look to build on the winning momentum, as they have resources to do well in the forthcoming games