Ashes: Here's what Shane Warne has warned Steve Smith about
What's the story
Australia are already in the driver's seat after managing to draw first blood in the opening Test of The Ashes 2019. Meanwhile, England have included pacer Jofra Archer, as he is all set to make his debut in the second Test at Lord's, next week. Ahead of Archer's debut, Australian legend Shane Warne sent out a warning to Steve Smith. Here's what he said.
First Test
Smith dominated first Test without facing Archer
Smith had a glorious outing in the opening Test, which England lost, as Archer missed out on the game due to a side strain. The match saw Smith smashing twin centuries (144 and 142), as Australia scripted a dominating all-round performance to tame the hosts by 251 runs. With the knocks, Smith shattered a number of Australian and world records in the format.
IPL advantage
Warner feels IPL stint with Smith will help Archer
It should be noted that Archer and Smith play for the same side, Rajasthan Royals (RR), in the IPL. Warne said that the knowledge Archer has gathered playing alongside Smith would heavily help the former. "Steve (Smith) has been the star of the show so far but now we have Jofra joining his Royals (and England) team-mates Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler," said Warne.
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"No one likes to face tall 90 mph bowlers"
"Obviously, I would love to see Steve go on and score a hundred in every single innings, but with Jofra coming in, I think he'll be set to face his biggest challenge yet and this could make the difference in the upcoming Tests," warned Warne.
Reliance
England to rely a lot on Archer, feels Warne
However, Warne also felt that the ouster of veteran pacer James Anderson would allow England to rely a lot on Archer when it comes to Smith, while the latter has the abilities to come out on top. "They (Archer and Smith) will have faced each other a lot in the nets so if anyone will have a plan, it will be Jofra," Warne continued.
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To be honest, I didn't bowl at Smith much: Archer
"A lot of the guys probably don't want to face me or Oshane Thomas in the nets. But, when you play with them, you pick up on things you won't normally notice when you're just playing against them," said Archer, on bowling to Smith.
Next venture
Talented Archer looks to claim Smith's wicket as big prize
As Archer prepares for his Test debut, it should be noted that he made his international debut in May 2019. He also became England's top bowler in the ICC World Cup 2019. However, he failed to claim Smith's wicket on two occasions. Thus, Archer would look to make another impact on his Test debut, and also eye the prized wicket of Smith.