Steve Smith plays down altercation with Jofra Archer , says ‘We’ll leave it out there’ after heated words were exchanged.
We’ll leave it out there’ – Steve Smith on Jofra Archer confrontation.
Steven Smith dismissed his altercation with Jofra Archer as “good banter” following the most recent episode of their captivating head-to-head match. In an intense back-and-forth with England’s fast bowler captured on stump mics, Smith shot to 23 not out off only nine balls to lead Australia to an eight-wicket victory at the Gabba.
Smith was knocked off his feet by Archer’s vicious bouncer to the neck during his Test debut at Lord’s 2019, and he suffered a concussion that prevented him from playing in the subsequent Test. However, Smith has otherwise won his Test matchup: no bowler has bowled to Smith more than Archer (33.2 overs) without ever dismissing him since Australia’s victory in Brisbane.
During Australia’s run chase, Archer charged in with just 65 runs to defend, often hitting speeds of 93 mph/150 kph in the fastest spell of the game. Knowing that there will be storms in the region, Smith chose to take him on. He missed an uppercut attempt and pulled the first ball he met from Archer for four.
After Archer sent the next two balls to the boundary, Smith swivel-pulled a six over deep fine leg after top-edging a hook over wicketkeeper Jamie Smith for four. Before an exuberant celebration with Weatherald, Smith hit Gus Atkinson over deep square leg for six, and Archer did not bowl another over.
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.”
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.”