Inside Smith’s head during second Test finale as Archer becomes Australia’s new Ashes villain

Australia’s new pantomime Ashes villain Jofra Archer has unwittingly turned the blowtorch on himself with his sledge of Steve Smith, as the batting great secured emphatic victories on and off the field over his one-time tormentor.

Marnus Labuschagne said Smith was “jacked” as he greeted teammates after the victory while former teammates have rarely seen the stand-in captain as animated as he was during the dramatic finale of the second Test when he bombed Archer for six with bat and barb.

Labuschagne provided an insight into his close friend’s state of mind in the immediate aftermath of the game.

“There was a little bit of chirp out there and atmosphere,” Labuschagne said.

“Jofra was bowling nice and fast, and there were some words and chat. That got him up and about, and then to finish the game off with a six you’re always going to be pretty jacked after just bombing one 90 metres into the stands and win, and go 2-0 up in the Ashes.”

The U-shaped figure Smith made with his glove after he hit Archer for six, which he makes regularly, is a gesture regarding his hand position on the bat, a source with knowledge of the matter said.

Smith gave little away about the on-field exchange in his post-match press conference but was more expansive speaking to former teammate Brad Haddin on Triple M.

“It was good fun, [I’m] not going to lie,” Smith said. “He was obviously coming down bowling pretty quick. The beams were going a bit. We know at the Gabba there’s pretty short boundary behind me, so I thought he’s bowling 150, all I have to do is get something on it, and it’s going for six.”

By saving his fastest and snarliest spell of the game for when it mattered least, Archer put a target on his own back heading into the third Test in Adelaide.

Ashes-winning captains Ricky Ponting and Michael Vaughan both questioned why Archer could not bowl with the same fire when the game was on the line, while Haddin said he did not expect Archer to keep his place in the England XI for the next game.

The point was made most cuttingly by Smith in the heat of battle when, responding immediately to a quip from Archer that he only “likes to play shots when there’s not much on the scoreboard”, he told the paceman “you bowl fast when there’s nothing going on, champion”.

There was an element of truth to Smith’s line that made it difficult for Archer – hit for four and six in the next two balls immediately – to respond meaningfully.

Archer hit speeds in the low 140 kms/h in his first spell of the game but dipped into the low to mid-130s in his opening over on the third day, only to break through the 150 km/h barrier when defending a meagre target of 65.

Archer’s pace also fluctuated in the first Test in Perth, dropping six kilometres an hour from innings to innings.

Archer concussed Smith with a nasty bouncer in 2019 and struck him in Perth multiple times, but in five Tests has not claimed the Australian’s wicket, a fact Smith often highlights.

Commentating while Smith and Archer were going head-to-head, Ponting gave the Australian the bout.

“I like it,” Ponting said of Smith’s one-liner. “Jofra’s finally come to life six days into the series. When the second Test match is gone, he starts chirping. Too late for that, champ. That’s what Smithy said to him.

“Bowling quick now, mate, when the game’s over, good on you. They’ve all started. Too late, boys. You’ve had your chance for four days. You haven’t been good enough, too late to start.”

Vaughan said the pressure was now on Archer to start the third Test with the same venom.

“Great theatre but I will be honest, I want to see Jofra bowling like this in the first innings in Adelaide,” Vaughan said on Kayo Sports.

“I want to see Jofra run in and bowl 150km/h, he’s got it in him, we have seen that. England are struggling to get 20 wickets.

“He’s the one bowler I think could crack open an opportunity for England, but he has to run in and bowl like that in the first innings.

“Not when you’re defending 65 and the lights are on and you’re only going to bowl four or five overs, I want to see that on the first morning.”

Haddin was scathing of Archer, saying “I don’t think you can trust him” to always give maximum effort.

“He bowled 150k’s, it was great to watch, we were all on the edge of our seats,” Haddin said on Triple M.

“But in the first innings when the game was there to be won it was 11k’s slower. What is that? Is that an attitude thing? Is it someone not wanting to do the hard work? They’re some big questions you’ve got to ask in the change room when you walk back in. That was scary fast bowling – for two overs.”

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