England wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler recently revealed that a bouncer to Steve Smith during the last Ashes series had reminded him of the tragic incident of the late Australian cricketer Phil Hughes.
Smith, an Australian batting superstar, was hit on the neck by a fast and furious delivery from debutant England speedster Jofra Archer during the fourth day of the second Ashes Test at Lord’s last year.
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The right-hander, who was on fire with the bat during the Ashes series and finished as the leading run-scorer in that series, had made a brilliant 80 before being struck by a bouncer from the Barbadian-born fast bowler, who was regularly firing down deliveries at more than 90mph at Lord’s, as the ball hit him on the side of the neck and head forcing him to fall on the ground.
Smith stayed down for a while as the England fielders rushed to him for help, before the Medical staff was able to reach the star batsman on the ground. After a brief assessment on the pitch, Smith was declared retired hurt. He returned to bat before getting dismissed on 92 and was then replaced by Marnus Labuschagne as concussion substitute in the second innings. He was rested for the third Test before coming back for the final two Tests of the five-match Ashes series in England.
Meanwhile, Buttler, who was one of the first England players who rushed towards Smith after he fell on the ground, revealed that he was so scared when former Australian captain felled on the ground following the bouncer by English pacer.
Noteworthy, he was wearing a helmet without the additional neck protection that was introduced following the death of Phillip Hughes because of a similar bouncer in a 2014 domestic match in Sydney.
Buttler told Sky Sports Podcast: “That was Jofra’s first Test - he came with a lot of expectations (on him) but for a guy to produce a spell on debut like he did was quite incredible.”
He further explained: “Any time we see some of the best Test cricket, it’s always with great fast bowling; Jofra - a new kid on the block bowling extremely fast to the world’s best batsman at Lord’s in an Ashes Test. You could just feel that sense of anticipation every time that he ran in and you could see the speedgun getting quicker and quicker.”
Jos signed off by saying: “There was that sense of something happening... incredible theatre and incredible drama. It was scary because he (Steve Smith) got hit on his neck or just beneath. People are very aware of what happened to Phillip Hughes, so there was a huge worry for everyone.”
(With Sky Sports Inputs)
