Jofra Archer imitates Steven Smith's style of leaving the ball
Ahead of the third Test match in the ongoing Ashes, England's pacer Jofra Archer was seen imitating Australia's Steven Smith's style of leaving the ball outside the off-stump.
In a video posted by cricket.com.au, Archer can be seen having a practice session. In the video, Archer plays a straight drive just like Smith and then he goes on to leave the ball in exactly the same manner as Smith.
Smith's antics with the bat in the second Test match had sent Twitter into a tizzy as many cricket fans were seen voicing their opinion of how the batsman was leaving the ball outside the off-stump.
"I'd rather watch a 24-hour compilation of Steve Smith leaving the ball than face Jofra Archer. #bbccricket," one fan posted on Twitter.
"Leaving the ball is also a very important part of batsmanship in 5-day matches, but if the matter is how you leave it then Steve Smith might be the first batsman in the history of Test cricket to leave the ball in some style. #Ashes," another fan tweeted.
Both Smith and Archer were engaged in an intense battle in the second Test match, and the former was hit on the neck by a bouncer bowled by the latter.
Smith will be missing the third Test match as he has not recovered in time after suffering a delayed concussion.
The 30-year-old had to deal with two blows on day four of the second Test match. First, he was struck on the elbow by Jofra Archer and soon after he got a hit on the neck by a bouncer from the pacer.
Physios from both England and Australia attended to Smith, but the batsman had to leave the park to undergo a concussion test. A while later, the batsman made his way back to the crease, but a section of England crowd was seen booing the player.
On the final day of the Test match, Cricket Australia released a statement that Smith had suffered a delayed concussion and as a result, he was ruled out of day five of the second Test.
Marcus Labuschagne was named as the concussion substitute in place of Smith.
Archer went on to take five wickets in his debut Test match and he would hope to replicate the performance in the third Test match at Headingley.
