'I’d had a dozen beers to be honest' - Steve Smith recalls incident during Australia's last Ashes Test at Lord's

The second Test of the ongoing  Ashes series will commence on June 28 (Wednesday), at the Lord's Cricket Ground. Australia outplayed England by two wickets in the opening Test at Edgbaston in Birmingham and eventually took a 1-0 lead in the five-game series. As Australia are gearing up for the second Test match, ace Australia batter Steve Smith recalled an incident during the last time he played at Lord's in 2019.

The 34-year-old withdrew from the second Test at Lord's in 2019 and thus became the first cricketer to be formally substituted out of a Test match due to a concussion. He underwent concussion testing before returning after being hit on the neck by England speedster, Jofra Archer, on day four. Notably, he was ruled out on the final day of the match and also missed the third Test at Headingley.

Steve Smith recalled the incident, saying it was a day when he wasn't seeing the ball as well as he would have liked from that end. He also stated that Archer was bowling at speeds ranging from 93 to 96 miles per hour at times and that the wicket felt a little up and down. He added that it was a dreadful time for him and that he got one on the arm and then one on the back of the head.

“It was just a day that I wasn’t quite seeing the ball as well as I would have liked from that end. Archer was bowling 93 to 96 miles an hour at stages. And the wicket felt like it was a little bit up and down. So it certainly wasn’t easy. It was a very difficult period to get through, and obviously I caught one on the arm, got away with a few pull shots that are top edge and a couple in the gaps. And then I caught one in the back of the head, which hurt a fair bit," Smith said as quoted by Belfast Telegraph.

I didn’t realize I was getting concussed: Smith 

Steve Smith went on to say that he didn't realize he was becoming concussed at the moment. He added that he passed all the tests, but after some time the adrenaline kicked in and he felt sleepy like he'd had a dozen drinks. Furthermore, Smudge stated that it was a difficult period and that Archer bowled exceptionally well.

“At that stage, I didn’t realise I was getting concussed. I went off and did all the tests, passed all the tests. It wasn’t until I came back out and half an hour after, when the adrenaline sort of went out of my system and I started to feel quite groggy, probably like I’d had a dozen beers to be honest. That lasted for a little bit. It was a difficult period and he bowled really nicely," he added.