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Never-before-seen footage shines new light on horror Steve Smith moment

A trailer for Amazon Prime’s new Ashes documentary ‘The Test’ shines a light on the moments in and around the Australian dressing room when Steve Smith was felled by a Jofra Archer bouncer.

The cricket world held its breath last year when Smith was struck on the neck and stayed down for several minutes at Lord’s.

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He was taken from the field with concussion but later returned to the crease and was eventually dismissed for 92.

The new trailer for ‘The Test’ shows Smith’s devastation after he shouldered arms and was struck on the pad to a ball that was crashing into middle stump.

Steve Smith, pictured here after his horror moment in the 2019 Ashes series.
Steve Smith was shattered. Image: Amazon Prime

Smith pelted his bat onto the ground in anger before slumping into a seat in the dressing room with his head in his hands.

“Good stuff Smudgey boy,” a teammate can be heard saying in the background.

It remains to be seen what effects the concussion was having on Smith at the time, but he looked inconsolable after being dismissed so close to a century.

“I came out and slogged my first ball over midwicket. Defending was just the hardest thing to do,” Smith said of what was going through his head when he resumed batting.

“My mind is saying work hard and defend but I was kind of like — I couldn’t do it.”

Aussie teammates’ shock

The sneak peak into the upcoming documentary also shows how the coaches and players reacted when Smith was felled.

Aussie legend Steve Waugh - who was touring with the side as an assistant coach and mentor - was in immediate shock.

“Boys, we need someone out there. We need someone out there big time,” Waugh said in the dressing room.

“I think we were all in shock,” Peter Siddle added.

“I think the worst was when he was laying there. That was probably the scariest moment for us all.”

Steve Smith, pictured here being struck by a delivery from Jofra Archer.
Steve Smith was struck by a delivery from Jofra Archer. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

The trailer also shows Matthew Wade’s disbelief that English fans were still booing Smith when he returned to the crease.

Smith was diagnosed with diagnosed concussion the next day and sat out the remainder of the second Test, as well as the third Test at Headingley.

He returned for the final two Tests and helped Australia retain the Ashes urn with a 2-2 series draw.

His removal from the second Test famously resulted in Test cricket’s first-ever concussion substitute as Marnus Labuschange grasped his opportunity and hasn’t let go of it since.