"Like I'd had a dozen beers" - Steve Smith recalls his concussion incident off Jofra Archer's bowling
Star Australian batter Steve Smith has recalled the brutal blow he suffered off Jofra Archer's bowling during the 2019 Ashes series. The batting maestro revealed that it wasn't before he returned to bat that he felt dizzy despite passing all the concussion tests.
Archer, who made his Test debut at Lord's, bowled a fiery spell, combined with sheer pace and pinpoint short-pitched deliveries. One of those deliveries struck a composed-looking Smith on the back of his head.
He underwent concussion tests before coming out to bat again. However, the right-hander wasn't the same since then, and Chris Woakes trapped him lbw for 92.
Speaking on the Legend of the Ashes podcast, the New South Wales batter admitted that it was a difficult period to overcome and added that it felt like he had consumed alcohol half an hour later.
"It was a very difficult period to get through. I caught one on the arm, got away with a few pull shots that are top edge and a couple in the gaps. And then I copped one in the back of the head, which hurt a fair bit.
"At that stage, I didn't realise I was getting concussed. I went off and did all the tests, passed all the tests. It wasn't until I came back out. Half an hour after, when the adrenalin sort of went out of my system and I started to feel quite groggy, probably like I'd had a dozen beers, to be honest."
The former Aussie captain missed the next Test at Headingley due to concussion before slamming 211 and 82 in the fourth game in Manchester. Smith went on to register a mammoth 774 runs in four Tests at over 100. He couldb't bat in the second innings of that Test either, forcing Marnus Labuschagne to fill in.
"Lord's itself can be a little difficult" - Steve Smith
Smith also recalled that the weather conditions and England bowlers bowling from the Members' end created small distractions:
"It was quite a dark, gloomy day. The clouds were rolling in and out. Lord's itself can be a little difficult when they are bowling from the members' end, with the members sitting there and the sightscreen not as big as at other grounds.
"There were a few distractions there, and it was just a day (when) I wasn't quite seeing the ball as well as I would have liked from that end."
After failing in the first Ashes Test of the ongoing series, the 34-year-old will be keen to get back in the runs. The second Test starts at Lord's on June 28.