'We'll Leave It Out There' – Steven Smith Reflects on Confrontation with Jofra Archer

Steven Smith and Jofra Archer engaged in a heated conversation during the fourth day of the Brisbane test. The Australian batting maestro took on Archer even though he was bowling seaming short balls to him. Both players exchanged some words with each other, as Archer got a bit animated after Smith hit consecutive boundaries off him.

Interestingly, Archer asked Smith why he was keen on playing risky shots when there was no scoreboard pressure. The Australian stand-in captain then replied, saying that he should focus on bowling fast when nothing seems to be going his way.

"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 immediately.

Considering the escalating tension, the umpire Sharfuddoula then intervened and asked both players to refrain from making any inappropriate remarks.

Commenting on the intense banter between the two teams, Australian great Ricky Ponting said that England is trying to distract the Australians a bit too late. He added that Archer is looking good in rhythm however, it won’t help him as Australia is closing in on victory.

"I like it. 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." said former Australia test captain, Ricky Ponting.

When Steven Smith was asked about the incident in the post-match press conference, he said it was a friendly banter between two professional players and nobody should have any concern with that. He added that the words exchanged on the field stayed there, so there was no need to make a fuss about it.

"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." said Steven Smith at the post-match press conference.

He then said that Archer was bowling with good pace at that time, so taking him on seemed like the right option. Fortunately, he timed some shots well, which gave him a lot of confidence.

"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.” said Steven Smith.

"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." added Steven Smith.

Archer’s Performance Still Important for England

The head coach of England, Brendon McCullum, is still confident that Jofra Archer will play a big role in the rest of the series. He understands that the performance of Archer can go up or down a bit, but his impact on the game will always be significant.

"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. 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.” said England head coach, Brendon McCullum.

He then urged the team to stay motivated for the remainder of the series. The head coach said that playing in Australia can be really challenging, but the team needs to stay focused on their tasks and remain consistent in their approach.

"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.” said Brendon McCullum.

“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." concluded Brendon McCullum.