Shoaib critical of Archer’s reaction after hitting Smith
Former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhter was critical of Jofra Archer’s reaction after the England fast bowler hit Australia’s Steve Smith with a brutal bouncer on the back of the neck on day four of the second Ashes Test.
Smith had tormented England in this series but Archer produced a lightning spell of fast bowling, during which he bruised Smith’s forearm before the batsman had to leave the field following being hit of the neck.
Archer initially went to walk back to his run-up after hitting Smith but was then seen checking on the Australian star, who scored twin tons in the 251-run win at Edgbaston last week.
Akhtar reiterated that bouncers were part and parcel of the game but the bowler must go and check on the batsman.
“Bouncers are part and parcel of the game. But whenever a bowler hits a batsman on the head and he falls, courtesy requires that the bowler must go and check on him,” Akhtar tweeted.
“It was not nice of Archer to just walk away while Smith was in pain. I was always the first one to run to the batsman,” he added.
Later today, Smith was ruled out of the second Test due to concussion and is a doubt for the third Test at Headingly on Thursday. During the fifth and final day of the second Test today, Archer then hit Smith’s concussion substitute Marnus Labuschagne on the helmet.
Archer though said that his heart skipped a beat when he saw Smith go down. "Honestly, I don't know what I was thinking at the time,” he told Sky Sports.
"Seeing someone go down, you don't ever want to see anyone getting carried off in a stretcher or you don't want to see anyone missing a day or another game.
"Especially what happened a few years ago as well. It's never a nice sight."
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