Shoaib Akhtar slams Archer for not checking up on Smith

During his fiery spell on day four of the second Ashes Test, Jofra Archer struck Steve Smith twice -- first on his forearm and then on the unprotected back of his neck with a 92.4 mph bouncer.

Steve Smith was eventually dismissed when he shouldered arms to a straight ball from Chris Woakes, just eight runs short of a century.

Former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar on Sunday slammed Jofra Archer for not checking on Steve Smith after the Australian batsman was felled on the ground by a nasty bouncer from the England fast bowler during the second Ashes Test.

During his fiery spell on the fourth day at Lord’s, Archer struck Smith twice -- first on his forearm and then on the unprotected back of his neck with a 92.4 mph bouncer.

“Bouncers are a part & parcel of the game but whenever a bowler hits a batsman on the head and he falls, courtesy requires that the bowler must go & check on him. It was not nice of Archer to just walk away while Smith was in pain. I was always the first one to run to the batsman,” Akhtar tweeted on Sunday.

The body blow forced Smith to retire hurt while batting on 80. After a concussion test, Smith, however, returned in less than an hour to take the crease even as a section of English crowd booed the batsman.

The former skipper was eventually dismissed when he shouldered arms to a straight ball from Chris Woakes, just eight runs short of a century.