Jos Buttler Reveals What He Felt After Steve Smith Was Struck On The Neck During Lord’s Ashes Test

England wicket-keeper Jos Buttler revealed thoughts regarding late former Australia cricketer Phil Hughes crossed his mind after Steve Smith was hit on the neck by a Jofra Archer bouncer during the second Ashes Test at Lord’s last year.

During the fourth day of the Test, Smith was hit just below the neck by a rising delivery from Archer and he fell on the ground. Medical aid rushed to the spot as Smith was declared retired hurt.

Buttler, who was fielding at short leg, was one of the first England players who rushed towards Smith after he fell on the ground. He revealed his fright after he saw Smith going down on the ground following the hit.

Jos Buttler Terrified To See Steven Smith Hit On The Head

“That was Jofra’s first Test – he came with a lot of expectations (on him) but for a guy to produce a spell on debut like he did was quite incredible,” Buttler told Sky Sports Podcast.

“Any time we see some of the best Test cricket, it’s always with great fast bowling; Jofra – a new kid on the block bowling extremely fast to the world’s best batsman at Lord’s in an Ashes Test,” he added.

“You could just feel that sense of anticipation every time that he ran in and you could see the speedgun getting quicker and quicker. There was that sense of something happening… incredible theatre and incredible drama,” Buttler said

“It was scary because he (Steve Smith) got hit on his neck or just beneath,” he added. “People are very aware of what happened to Phillip Hughes, so there was huge worry for everyone.”

Philip Hughes Died After Being Hit By The Ball On The Head

During the afternoon session of the Sheffield Shield match between South Australia and New South Wales at the Sydney Cricket Ground on 25 November 2014, Hughes, batting at 63 not out, was struck in the neck by the ball after missing an attempted hook shot to a bouncer from New South Wales bowler Sean Abbott.

Hughes was wearing a helmet, but the ball struck an unprotected area just below his left ear. He collapsed before receiving mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and was subsequently taken to St Vincent’s Hospital, Sydney, where he underwent surgery and was placed into an induced coma.

On the morning of 27 November 2014, Hughes succumbed to his injuries, three days before his 26th birthday. This shocked the entire cricket world as no one could believe that Hughes passed away after being hit by a cricket ball.

It will forever be a dark memory in the eyes of Australian cricket and whenever similar incidents will take place, it will send shock waves to the entire cricketing world.

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