"Still hasn’t got me out": Steve Smith publicly humiliates Jofra Archer with brutal dig

Australian veteran Steve Smith returns for the fourth Test at the MCG after having recovered from his inner ear condition. Soon after his return, Smith is back to mocking the English pacer Jofra Archer and has expressed immense dissatisfaction with not getting to face him in the Boxing Day Test.

Australia won the Ashes series in Adelaide, and skipper Pat Cummins, much like he promised, will not be part of the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Instead, Steve Smith, the stand-in skipper, made a comeback to the side following a strange complication that kept him out of the Adelaide Test.

Under Smith's leadership, Australia had won the first two games of the Ashes series in Perth and Brisbane. The veteran batter might now be eyeing to return to his peak form in the longest format of the game, as he retired from ODIs only to focus on this format.

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Steve Smith mocks Jofra Archer

The final moments of the Gabba Test marked a nasty brawl between Jofra Archer and Steve Smith. The two players, mainly Smith, looked agitated, and he pulled and hooked Archer for a four and a six to finish the chase for Australia with a 9-ball 22*.

Smith missed the Adelaide Test when Archer looked at his very best and picked up a five-wicket haul in the first innings. Coming back, Steve Smith is disheartened by the fact that he will not be facing Archer at the MCG and SCG as the pacer has been ruled out with a side strain.

Though he claimed that Archer had bowled well last week, he also added that the England pacer has never managed to dismiss him in red-ball cricket. “Yeah, still hasn’t got me out,” Smith flaunted his unblemished record against the English pacer, as quoted by Code Sports.

“It is a shame that he’s not going to be around for the next couple of games, but I still think they’ve got some quality seamers in their line-up that can do damage,” Smith added.

Steve Smith eyeing 2027 Ashes; Retirement plans not on board

The Australia Test veteran with 10000+ runs in red-ball international cricket is ageing and is well past 36; however, considering Smith's fitness, his reflexes, and his batting form, the Aussie has not shown any signs of retirement.

Speaking ahead of Christmas, Steve Smith made his intentions clear to prolong his Test career as the veteran eyes the next Ashes in 2026-27. Smith has two World Cup titles and a T20 World Cup title under his belt and would be eyeing his second ICC WTC title in 2027, considering Australia keeps up their rock-solid form in this WTC cycle.

Steve Smith "feels for" Ben Stokes' England, justifies their vacation at Noosa

The stand-in Australian skipper has done the unthinkable by sympathising with the England team. Smith said that he feels for the English side, since they are in a country where one can go out and have fun, and with pretty big breaks between games, some time away from the game is necessary to maintain the fluidity of the team.

“Sometimes I think you’ve just got to – and I heard a few of the comments – but you have got to get away from the game and try and put it out of your mind and just relax for a little bit too,” he said.

Smith simply revealed that he had no qualms with a team taking some breaks, and anything else was not for him to comment on. "I certainly believe that when you’ve lost two Test matches, and you’ve got such a long break, sometimes you just need to get away from the game and switch off entirely,” Smith concluded.

ALSO READ: Steve Smith ruled out? Australia captain issues official update on Boxing Day Test availability in Ashes