Technically – given Archer provoked Smith by saying he “likes to play shots when there’s not much on the scoreboard” – it was rivals bagging each other for doing a good job (at the wrong time, mainly for Archer).
It was more Greg Thomas (“It’s red, round and weighs about five ounces; you’re supposed to hit it”) to Viv Richards, who then hit him out of the ground (“You know what it looks like, now go find it”) than Michael Clarke (“Get ready for a broken f—ing arm”) to Jimmy Anderson.
The addition of verbal sport to actual sport, when executed well and in the right temperament, makes for captivating Test cricket. Here, they danced together with flawless comedic timing.
Ball one: Smith pulls Archer for four.
Ball two: Smith sets sights on another boundary but misses. Archer delivers his line. Smith delivers his. Lots of not-nice smiling.
Ball three: Archer bowls a bouncer and Smith hits another four, albeit a little rushed and with a top edge. Archer talks some more. Ben Stokes claps. Smith says nothing.
What history? Steve Smith hits the deck at Lord’s after being felled by Jofra Archer in 2019.Credit: Getty
Ball four: Smith belts a six into the crowd. He gestures towards Archer, who says nothing.
Ball five: A single, to give Smith 15 runs from five balls.
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All the while, Archer’s pace had been climbing, from 146.6km/h to 149.5km/h to 149.4km/h to 150.5km/h. Well up from the 135km/h, give or take, at which he had bowled in his earlier spells – while trying to better his series average of 57 with the wicket he wanted the most that would make the least difference.
Down 2-0 and on the wrong end of a champing, but still shaking hands and meaning it.
In Smith’s eyes, it was “good banter. He’s a good competitor, he comes hard at you, so it was good fun”.
It “stays on the field”, he said, then continued cooking with gas.
“What history do I have [with Archer]?” Smith asked the media. “He was just bowling good pace. I’m not really sure what he said. I’m not really sure what I said. And it’s not really any of your business, either [laughs], so we’ll leave it out there.”
