England’s pace sensation Jofra Archer has recently recalled the fearsome moment when his fiery bouncer struck Australian star batsman Steve Smith during last year’s Ashes Test at Lord’s.
Smith took everyone to the scary memories of the late Phillip Hughes after being hit on the side of the head by fearsome a 92 Mph bouncer from Archer as a searing bouncer left the champion batsman dazed and even, he was forced to retire hurt with most spectators and players were deeply feared for him.
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Noteworthy, Hughes died after he was struck in the neck by the ball after missing an attempted hook shot to a bouncer from pacer Sean Abbott during a Sheffield Shield match between South Australia and New South Wales at the Sydney Cricket Ground on 25 November 2014.
Speaking to Talksport radio, Archer admitted that memories of the late Hughes came into his mind and even had started to fear the worst when his fearsome bouncer struck Smith – his Rajasthan Royals teammate in the Indian Premier League.
Archer said: “My first reaction was that it hit the helmet but a few seconds after he went down, everyone was like 'Oh no'. We had the stuff with Phil a few years ago and, generally, anything that hits you in that vicinity is going to be trouble. I'm just glad that he came out on the other side of it and batted in two games.”
The 25-year-old Archer has been out of action since the Boxing Day Test against South Africa at Centurion after suffering a stress fracture and now the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has extended his return to the field with English season extended till July.
Amid the COVID-19 lockdown, there are many talks and even England is planning to resume cricket behind closed doors and Barbados-born Archer suggested some artificial sound effects to replicate typical crowd noise so that players don't miss crowds.
Archer wrote in his Daily Mail column: “Playing in silence will take some getting used to, so it might be useful to play some music, some simulations of a crowd, something to create an atmosphere.”
He signed off by saying, “The best solution, if we do have to play behind closed doors, might be to have cheers and clapping when someone hits a four or a wicket falls. These are the little things that will make it as normal as possible even though it won't be a normal occasion.”
(With Daily Mail/AFP Inputs)
