Things got absolutely spicy between Steve Smith and Jofra Archer during the second Ashes Test. The Australian captain and England’s fast bowler had a proper verbal battle out there.
This happened during Australia’s eight-wicket victory that gave them a 2-0 series lead over England. Smith later brushed it off as just “good fun” and normal competitive cricket banter.
How the Whole Thing Started Between Smith and Archer
Smith smashed a boundary off Archer’s bowling towards the leg side, which triggered everything. After hitting that shot, he couldn’t resist having a go at the English pacer. Smith sledged Archer saying “Bowl fast when there’s nothing going on champion” right to his face. That comment obviously didn’t sit well with Archer at all and fired him up.
Archer responded by cranking up the pace and bowling some serious heat at Smith. His bouncers started flying past 150 km/h as he tried intimidating the Aussie captain. The verbal battle kept going back and forth between them throughout the remaining overs. Cricket fans watching loved every second of this intense rivalry playing out live.
Steve Smith Had the Last Laugh Though
Here’s where it gets brilliant – Smith turned all that aggression into runs immediately. He took ten runs off Archer’s next few deliveries, including a massive six over. That six must have hurt Archer’s pride even more after all that trash-talking. Smith kept his cool throughout while Archer got more frustrated with every boundary hit.
The match ended with Smith hitting another six to seal Australia’s comfortable victory there. He proved that staying calm under pressure beats losing your temper every single time. England couldn’t set a competitive target for Australia to chase down in this Test.
“It stays on the field (smiles). Nah, good banter. He’s a good competitor, he comes harder, so it was good fun,” Smith said after the match ended.
What Smith Said After the Match
Smith told reporters the exchange stayed on the field and didn’t affect anything afterwards. He emphasized that sledging and banter are just part of competitive Test cricket. The Australian captain clearly enjoyed winding up Archer and then backing it up with a performance.
