England‘s hopes of reclaiming the Ashes Trophy after eight years suffered a major setback as their star pacer Jofra Archer was ruled out of the entire home summer due to a recurring stress fracture in his elbow.
Archer will not play any part of the high-voltage five-match Test series against Australia at home, starting June 16 in Birmingham. The right-armer was a standout performer the last time Australia toured England in 2019, with his fiery fast bowling being the most talked-about aspect of the entertaining series.
Following the confirmation of Archer’s absence by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), a publication claimed that Australian superstar Steve Smith was terrorised by Archer four years ago.
This comment clearly didn’t go down well with Smith, as he came up with a stunning response on social media. The Aussie vice-captain responded to Code Cricket with a sarcastic tweet asking when he was dismissed by the English pacer.
“Terrorised? remind me when I was dismissed by him….,” wrote Smith on Twitter.
Terrorised? 🤔 remind me when I was dismissed by him….
— Steve Smith (@stevesmith49) May 16, 2023
Notably, Smith was not dismissed even once during the epic series, which saw the duo engaging in some fiery battles. In the second Test at Lord’s, a deadly bouncer from Archer hit Smith on the head, which ultimately caused him a concussion. It was the first-ever concussion sub in Test cricket history, with Marnus Labuschagne replacing Smith and beginning an incredible cricket career.
Smith did miss one game but ended up finishing the series as the leading run-scorer. He smashed a jaw-dropping 774 runs in seven innings at an outstanding average of 110.57 with the help of three centuries and as many fifties. For the unversed, it was Smith’s first red-ball leg for Australia since his one-year suspension following the infamous sandpaper gate.
