Jofra Archer and Steve Smith were involved in a heated clash during Australia’s crushing defeat of England (Picture: Getty)
Steve Smith couldn’t resist having a pop at Jofra Archer as he steered Australia to a dominant eight-wicket win over England to go 2-0 up in the Ashes.
England’s hopes of a first series win Down Under since 2010/11 were dealt another devastating blow as they slumped to a heavy and humbling defeat on the fourth day of an utterly one-sided pink-ball Test in Brisbane.
The tourists were already up against it having lost inside just two days in Perth, but Joe Root’s stunning century gave Ben Stokes’ men a fighting chance before Australia’s first innings.
However, the hosts roared back emphatically by posting a score of 511, the fifth-highest Test total without an individual century, to pile the pressure back on England.
England managed 241 in response to give themselves a lead of just 64, which Australia duly dispatched in the space of ten overs, with Smith smashing Archer for six to finish 23 not out and carry his team over the line.
Standing in for the injured Pat Cummins as captain, Smith appeared back to his frightening best at the Gabba after a quiet opening Test, even succeeding in getting under the skin of the usually calm and collected Archer in the closing stages.
The pair – whose 2019 contest has gone down in Ashes folklore – were seen exchanging a few choice words in the middle after Archer tested a fired-up Smith with a rapid bouncer.
Smith hit the winning runs for Australia at the Gabba (Picture: Getty)
‘Bowl fast when there’s nothing going on, champion,’ Australia’s stand-in skipper was heard saying to Archer on the stump mic.
While the tension between lingered for the remainder of Archer’s over, the duo were seen shaking hands not long after as Australia cruised to victory.
‘What history do I have with him?’ Smith replied when asked about his supposed ‘history’ with the England pace bowler during a press conference shortly after their altercation.
‘I’m not really too sure what he said and I’m not sure what I said either. It’s not really any of your business either!’
Stokes questioned England’s character after the loss (Picture: Getty)
A visibly disconsolate Stokes didn’t hold back with his assessment of England’s performance as he spoke to TNT Sports in the immediate aftermath of their latest setback.
With the touring team needing to win all three remaining Tests to take home the urn, Stokes questioned his side’s mentality and demanded more fight from his team-mates when matches ‘are on the line’.
‘When the game is on the line, teams are able to handle that pressure better than us,’ the England captain said.
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web
browser that
supports HTML5
video
‘We are a great team when we are ahead, when we are behind and playing huge catch-up we are great, but when then game is on the line we are not able to stand up to pressure. That is obvious as a captain.
‘It’s a mentality, a mindset. How you get yourself into a head space to make clear decisions is so important to be successful at this level.’
‘No-one means to drop catches or not bowl where you are supposed to but those things cannot happen at this level.’
Stokes added: ‘We knew exactly how we needed to bowl and we weren’t able to do it for a long enough period to put Australia under pressure, that was evident in the way they were able to score so quickly and easily.
‘We weren’t able to execute with bat and ball and we’ll be having some conversations in the dressing room.
‘It seems to be a constant theme that when the pressure is on, Australia keep outdoing us. They say Australia is not a place for weak men and we are definitely not weak but we need to find something.’
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on
Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Arrow
MORE: Michael Vaughan says England star’s place is under ‘huge threat’ after defeat to Australia
Arrow
MORE: Brad Haddin slams England star over ‘unacceptable’ mistake in second Ashes Test
Arrow
MORE: Why is Steve Smith wearing black tape under his eyes in the Ashes?
Comments
Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google
Add as preferred source
Football Newsletter – In The Mixer
Punchy analysis, transfer talk and more from Metro’s football experts, sent straight to your inbox every week.