'We'll leave it out there' – Steven Smith on Jofra Archer confrontation
Steven Smith played down his confrontation with Jofra Archer as nothing more than “good banter” after the latest instalment in their engrossing head-to-head battle. Smith raced to 23 not out off just nine balls to take Australia to an eight-wicket win at the Gabba, and was involved in a heated back-and-forth with England’s fast bowler picked up on stump microphones.On Test debut at Lord’s 2019, Archer hit Smith on the neck with a ferocious bouncer that knocked him off his feet, and ultimately ruled him out of the following Test due to concussion. But Smith has otherwise dominated their match-up in Tests: after Australia’s win in Brisbane, no bowler has bowled to Smith as much as Archer (33.2 overs) without ever dismissing him.With only 65 runs to defend, Archer charged in during Australia’s run chase and regularly hit speeds of 93mph/150kph in the quickest spell of the match. Smith decided to take him on in the knowledge that there were impending storms in the area, pulling the first ball he faced from Archer for four and then missing an attempted uppercut.
It was at that point that they exchanged words at close quarters. “Why play your shots when there’s no rush on the scoreboard?” Archer asked Smith. “[You] bowl fast when there’s nothing going on, champion,” Smith replied. Ben Stokes also exchanged words with Jake Weatherald immediately after, before umpire Sharfuddoula intervened.”I like it,” Ricky Ponting, the former Australia captain, said on Channel 7’s coverage. “Jofra’s finally come to life, six days into the series, when the second Test match is gone, he starts chirping. Too late for that, champ… Too late boys, you’ve had your chance for four days. You haven’t been good enough. It’s too late to start.”Smith hit the next two balls that Archer bowled to the boundary, top-edging a hook over wicketkeeper Jamie Smith for four before swivel-pulling a six over deep fine leg. Archer did not bowl another over, as Smith launched Gus Atkinson over deep square leg for six before an animated celebration with Weatherald.Asked about the exchange in the context of his history with Archer, Smith replied: “What history do I have with him?” When reminded of the blow at Lord’s six years ago, he said, laughing: “He was just bowling [at] good pace, and [I’m] not really too sure what he said and not sure what I said either – and it’s not really any of your business either, so we’ll leave it out there.”Jofra Archer and Steven Smith exchanged words•PA Photos/Getty Images
Smith explained that he saw his attacking intent as a “high-percentage” option, with a short boundary behind him, and said that the threat of rain had played a role. “I heard there’s a bit of a storm coming around,” he told Fox. “We obviously had a few behind us. It was a chance to just play a few shots.”He later added: “The adrenaline was pumping at the end there. Obviously, we didn’t need too many to win, and Jof was bowling pretty quick. I had a short boundary behind me, and I thought, ‘Why not just try to get up and under a few, and put a few in the stands?’ Fortunately, it hit the middle of the bat on a couple of occasions.”It was a huge win, obviously. It’s great to go two-nil up. It’s been a wonderful couple of weeks for the team. I think we’ve played some sensational cricket. We’ve identified moments in the game and made the most of them. It’s been good fun.”It was a frustrating Test match with the ball for Archer, who took a solitary wicket in 30 overs and had straightforward catches dropped off his bowling by Jamie Smith and Brydon Carse. His lightning-fast spell on the fourth evening stood in contrast to a drop-off in pace throughout Australia’s first innings, but Brendon McCullum said Archer had a “huge role” to play in the rest of the series.Related
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“Particularly with Jof, I think he has an ability to go up and down the gears and he feels he has a bit more control with his bowling when he slightly reduces pace somewhat,” McCullum told Channel 7. “But then there’s times where he’s got to let fly, and that’s always going to be the case. I guess he would love to have more impact so far in the series than he’s had, but I think he still has a huge role to play for us in the next little while.”I always stress that the message from the captain, the message from myself, [is that] you can’t come to this country and start sulking and feeling sorry for yourself when things haven’t worked out. You can’t have a glass jaw when you tour Australia. You’ve got to stand up, you’ve got to go again, you’ve got to wear a few on the way in, and you’ve got to head towards the target. That’s our job over the next nine days, to get ready for the next one.”