In an unfortunate turn of events during the penultimate day's play of the second Ashes Test between fierce rivals England and Australia, a Jofra Archer bullet bouncer felled Steve Smith at Lord's on Saturday. The blow stunned the packed London crowd even as concerned team-mates rushed to the aid of the former Aussie captain.
Smith, 30, was holding the Aussie fort against England and was nearing his third consecutive century in the series. But he was forced to walk off the pitch, unbeaten on 76 off 150 balls.
In the 77th over, Smith shuffled across the line to face the second delivery, but a well-directed bouncer at 92.4mph hit him on the neck, leaving him on the ground.
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But the right-handed batsman returned to the crease after the fall of Peter Siddle.
Archer, who himself was subjected to a barrage of bouncers from Aussie pacers earlier in the rain-affected match, has been operating at his fiery best, producing deliveries at an average of more than 90mph.
Smith was the man of the match in the series opener at Birmingham, which Australia won by 252 runs. In the match, he hit back-to-back centuries, 144 and 142.
