Jofra Archer has opened up on the moment he thought he had killed Steve Smith
When Jofra Archer struck Steve Smith a horrifying shudder ran through the cricket world - the English superstar has opened up on the chilling moment he thought he had killed him.
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Absent superstar Jofra Archer has revealed he thought he might have killed Steve Smith with the blow that sent a shudder through the cricket world.
Archer has opened up about the relief that came over him when Smith finally rose to his feet, after recalling the chilling Ashes moment back in 2019 when the felled Australian batsman “rolled” onto his back on the ground.
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The brutal barrage of short-pitched bowling dished up by Archer at Lord’s stands as one of the most enthralling battles in the history of Ashes cricket, with the theatre of the combat only enhanced when Smith summonsed the courage to return from the rooms to bat.
Smith asked himself in the wake of the incident, “why me?” after wrestling with the injustice that he had survived a similar blow to the one that had tragically killed former teammate Phillip Hughes.
Archer has told News Corp about the roller coaster of emotions he went through at the time, and the enormous respect he has for the toughness of Smith.
“I think in England personally when the ball hits you it can feel a lot worse than it is because sometimes it’s a bit cold and I thought it was that until I actually saw him roll … when he went down and then he rolled on his back, I went ‘oh dear,’ you know,” said Archer, an ambassador for Kayo who are streaming every ball of the Ashes live and ad-break free.
“I thought it was very serious, but he came out and he batted again.
“Obviously you don’t ever want a cricket related death. There was one already and there’s no need for another one. It’s hard enough trying to get the kids to come and play cricket.”
Although Steve Smith was ultimately out for 92 in that famous battle at Lord’s, he has always prided himself on the fact Archer never got his wicket.
For Archer two and a half years on, he’s just satisfied with the experience of being part of one of Ashes’ cricket’s most epic encounters and has nothing but admiration for Smith.
“I know they say he’s tough as nails anyway, but I don’t think he would have come out to bat again if he wasn’t,” said Archer.
“Just his resilience. You are putting yourself out there and risking everything for your team.
“Honestly throughout that whole series, I just think his wicket wasn’t for me. There were a few top edges that could have gone to hand. But I just enjoyed the challenge.”
Archer was ruled out of this Ashes tour months ago with an elbow injury, with Mark Wood taking his place as England’s enforcer, and doing a good job of it in Brisbane, with consistent spells over 150km/h.
However, Archer has warned against England trying to once again pelt Smith with a short-pitched assault, declaring the tactics at Lord’s were not preconceived.
“Steve had set in for a big one to be honest. I can’t remember the exact conversation on how we ended up going the short stuff, but we just were going to try everything we could so he doesn’t settle,” said Archer, who recently featured alongside David Warner, Rashid Khan and Brett Lee in Kayo’s new brand campaign.
“We had day one lost to rain, so we really wanted a result after being behind losing the first Test at Edgbaston. I just ran in and tried to let the ball go as fast as I can.
“The short stuff is only ever Plan B. We always try to stick to the process … always, always try and stick to plan A first before we try anything.”
The same goes for David Warner in Adelaide.
According to Archer, England shouldn’t get caught up trying to target Warner’s raw ribs after he suffered severe bruising from a couple of blows to the chest in Brisbane – and should focus on getting him out conventionally with the moving pink ball.
“It’s so much harder to hit that same exact spot. It’s so, so hard,” he said.
Superstar calls for major England shake-up
Jofra Archer believes England should launch a five-pronged pink ball pace blitz as a desperate bid to revive their Ashes campaign.
England is under enormous pressure to shake up their attack for the second Test in Adelaide starting on Thursday, but the path forward is far from straight forward after whopping penalties for slow over rates dished out by the ICC made it high risk for them to axe spinner Jack Leach, who was destroyed by Australia in Brisbane.
With James Anderson and Stuart Broad poised for a recall to take advantage of hooping conditions under lights, England’s embattled brain’s trust have some massive calls to make, given quicks Mark Wood and Ollie Robinson caused Australia headaches in Brisbane.
Archer, ruled out of the Ashes with an elbow injury, knows from personal experience that Australia is a fast bowler’s paradise and urged England to be brave and throw the kitchen sink at turning the series around with a five-man pace arsenal – not just in Adelaide – but for the rest of the tour.
“Being in Australia period, not just the day-night Test, it would be tempting,” said Archer, an ambassador for Kayo who are streaming every ball of the Ashes live and ad-break free.
“Australia is probably the one place in the world where you’re going to get the most consistent (conditions) for fast bowling. So it might be tempting to just pick five fast bowlers regardless.”
Archer admits he found the first Test difficult to watch from the UK, knowing how much he would have relished ripping in on pacy Australian decks.
“It was actually, because you know, it’s one of those tours as a fast bowler that you don’t want to miss,” said Archer.
“You know you’re going to get purchase if you bend your back. Australia is where fast bowlers thrive.”
Archer recently featured alongside David Warner, Rashid Khan and Brett Lee in Kayo’s new brand campaign.
Former Australian fast bowler Jason Gillespie also weighed in on England’s selection issues, adamant captain Joe Root must face the reality he simply does not have a spinner in his squad with the armoury to compete against the likes of David Warner, Marnus Labuschagne and Travis Head.
Root stood up for Leach after he was savaged by Australia at the Gabba, taking the blame for setting his left-arm finger spinner up to fail with fields that were too aggressive.
But Gillespie said the brutal truth is neither Leach nor England’s back-up spinner Dom Bess can survive in Australia.
England’s problem is that if they don’t play a spinner they leave themselves vulnerable to further over rate dramas in Adelaide.
ICC match referee David Boon already docked the team their entire match fee from Brisbane and penalised them five points from the World Test Championship table – a further points deduction would severely impact their chances of pushing for the final, given a similar penalty cost Australia qualification last summer.
Gillespie wrote in his UK Daily Mail column that Root must abandon his spin plans regardless, because Leach’s figures of 1-102 at the Gabba will not be a one off.
“Australians always have and always will take on finger spin because it doesn’t offer a hell of a lot. The policy is to go hard at it,” wrote Gillespie.
“You didn’t have to be Einstein to see that Jack Leach would be lined up to be pommeled.
“… If Dom Bess comes in, he can expect the same treatment.
“… As a finger spinner, Nathan Lyon is an outlier. He is one of the greats of the game as a 400-wicket bowler, but even then they only come around every 67 balls.
“…. A captain can only work with the players he has at his disposal and the way Australia have treated Leach will be a learning curve for him (Root).”
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