Smith suffered a concussion at Old Trafford in the 3rd set which apparently gave the English team a win advantage. He however insisted that Archer should reign in his premature jubilations since the two are yet to face off. Ashes on the other hand expressed his enthusiasm to topple the batsman, indicating in a Guardian quote that he was more than prepared for his return for the next set which should break the current 1-1 status between their two teams.
Team England also professed confidence that its Ashes win was inevitable considering that there were several more vulnerable players in Smith’s team that could be eliminated easily and leave him stranded. After all, Smith cannot be expected to hold the team’s position on his own. Its impressive performance at Headingley is an indication of its prowess with Ben Stokes in the lead and boasting 135 not-out stats. This win has definitely set the pace for the team and embarked them on a winning streak as far as Archer is concerned.Archer however noted that their team’s 359 runs target was no easy feat and the team was therefore bent on staying alert as ever. The English team’s fans had also started to panic a bit initially but were starting to relax now. He added that their opponents were at an advantage of retaining the Ashes even with a draw hence they weren’t bent on attacking as much as his team. Also, Smith and his team faced quite a resistance from England and failed to score their intended early wickets in the 3rd set.
