Australia captain Steve Smith downplayed his fiery exchange with Jofra Archer at the Gabba as “good banter” after letting his bat deliver the final riposte in the first major flashpoint of the Ashes on Sunday.
Australia cruised to an eight‑wicket victory to take a 2-0 lead in the series, but a frustrated Archer added spice to the final session with a verbal clash with the man he floored at Lord’s with a short ball two years ago.
After Smith missed an attempted ramp-shot at the Gabba, Archer confronted Smith mid-pitch and fired a few heated words.
The captain shot back: “You bowl fast when there’s nothing going on, champion.”
Archer sent down another short ball which Smith despatched over the slips to the rope for four.
The pair came together again, prompting England captain Ben Stokes to approach and give his bowler a pat on the back.
Archer sent down a 150 kph rocket on the next ball, with Smith pulling it for six.
The England quick grinned ruefully as he walked back to his mark before Smith scored a single to end their head-to-head.
“That stays on the field, it was good banter. He’s a good competitor, he comes hard at you so it was good fun,” Smith told host broadcaster Fox Sports after smashing an unbeaten 23 off nine balls.
“It just felt right to play a few shots. Archer was obviously bowling pretty quick and there was a short boundary behind me.
“I thought I would try to get hold of a few, particularly as I heard there was a storm coming so I wanted to get things done.”
Smith declined to elaborate on his chat with Archer during the post-match press conference.
“He was just bowling good pace and 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 at that,” he said with a laugh.
With Australia dominating play, it had been a surprisingly civil Ashes between the teams until Sunday’s late flare-up.
Former England captain Michael Vaughan said he hoped Archer could bring the fire in the third test in Adelaide after managing only one wicket at the Gabba.
“Great theatre but I will be honest, I want to see Jofra bowling like this in the first innings in Adelaide,” he said on Fox Sports.
“I want to see Jofra run in and bowl 150 kph, he’s got it in him, we have seen that.
“He’s the one bowler I think could crack open an opportunity for England.”
(Reuters)
