Steve Smith on top again after he resumes Ashes rivalry with Jofra Archer | Geoff Lemon
Jofra Archer versus Steve Smith in 2019 is already Ashes folklore,The atmosphere at Lord’s that afternoon was charged in all senses, a huge slab of cloud bringing darkness to the day,Fresh from a match-winning World Cup final, Archer marked his Test debut with what was then the fastest spell recorded for England,Smith was in the middle of a Bradman-hued streak of 774 runs in seven innings,All that could pause him was a short-pitched attack of building ferocity, one that finally dropped Smith with a bouncer to the neck.
It was a pure duel, the kind that cause spectators genuine fear,In the immediate aftermath, and again as Archer took six-fers in wins at Headingley and the Oval, one principal idea came up: imagine, what would he be able to do in Australia? Imagine him on a fast and bouncy track in Perth or Brisbane,It was: “I can’t wait to get you to the Gabba”, but born of admiration rather than antagonism,The show, we all imagined, could be a spectacle,It took six and a half years, but Archer got to Perth a fortnight ago.
His opening burst lived up to expectation, removing both openers for 11 runs, before being ambushed in the second innings like the rest of his team,Now in Brisbane, here he was again: tricky conditions, a night session, pink ball, floodlights – and Smith in his sights,As long as Smith keeps playing, he remains the centre of Ashes contests, even more for opposing supporters than his own,As he walked out here on the second afternoon, the English in the stands rose to jeer him,Australians rose in response to urge him on.
Support drowned out disparagement,Loved or loathed, when Smith bats, eyes focus on the game,When Smith faces Archer, people really sit up and pay attention,Smith would deny this is the central contest,With a degree of saltiness from a man whose flavour profile is more dry white toast than four fried chickens and a Coke, he has repeated the point over the years that Archer never took his wicket at Lord’s.
Knocked out, not got out, and Smith will not concede that as a defeat.For anyone engineering a Mandela effect in which that concussion prompted his batting decline over the following years, remember that his first knock after the knockout was a double ton.Archer played in that game too.He is in his fifth Test against Smith and has still never got him out, a personal worst for the bowler.But still, stats and energy are often divergent and the energy says that Archer to Smith is box office.
So does Archer’s inclination.Having just dismissed Jake Weatherald, his first ball to Smith on Friday was in daylight, in the second session, and the bouncer pinged down at 146km (90.7mph) – an absurd figure given the speed gun tends to clock short balls as slower.Smith got out of the way.Stuck with a difficult decision, Ben Stokes kept Archer going to break the batting-axis partnership.
But as Marnus Labuschagne soaked up much of it, the seven-over spell came at a cost.With Archer having started after the first break at 4.40pm, he bowled through the heat of daylight and was cooked by the onset of dusk.Through the same period the previous day, Australia had conceded an hour of England having a sense of control, in exchange for holding back the left-arm menace Mitchell Starc.Unleashed half an hour before sunset, at 6.
02pm, he began a dusk demolition with some help from Harry Brook.In the same conducive conditions a day later, England’s main weapon had an empty tank.By the time Archer could return it was after the second break, under dark skies, with his bowling speeds in the 130s rather than scaling the 140s.He still gave it his best shot, smacking Smith on the gloves, testing him with short balls, but the batter kept finding a response, edging a hook for four, uppercutting a bouncer for six, steering away through gully to the rope again.For all of his efforts, Archer could not get through and he must have felt a contradictory relief and resentment to see Smith’s wicket given away to the battered Brydon Carse.
Since that day back in 2019, the duel has been better in the imagination.Smith’s two blackened eyes in this Test have been of his own choosing.The glare has not unsettled him and he has continued taking on the contest.On Friday, Archer danced, Archer swung, Archer bruised the other guy’s knuckles, but Archer never landed a telling blow of his own.
Skipton in Yorkshire named happiest place to live in Great Britain
It is nicknamed “the gateway to the Dales”, is home to one of England’s best-preserved medieval castles and, for trivia fans, was the birthplace of half of Marks & Spencer. Now, the Yorkshire market town of Skipton has been named “the happiest place to live” in Great Britain.It received the accolade from the property website Rightmove, which runs a “happy at home” index that is now in its 14th year. The survey asks residents how they feel about their area based on a range of factors.With its picturesque location on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales, Skipton was ranked particularly highly for its access to nature and green spaces, the friendliness of the people and access to essential services such as schools and doctors
‘Tough market conditions’ hit UK half-year retail sales at Frasers Group
The owner of Sports Direct and Flannels has said sales have fallen at its UK retail businesses amid heavy discounting by rivals and “very subdued” consumer confidence.Frasers, which is controlled by the former Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley, said sales at its UK sports division were down 5.8% in the six months to 26 October to £1.3bn despite growth at the main Sports Direct chain because of “planned decline” at its Game outlets and the Studio Retail online arm.Michael Murray, the chief executive of Frasers Group, which also owns House of Fraser department stores, Jack Wills and dozens of other brands and a number of shopping centres, said “market conditions are tough” and “consumer confidence is very subdued”
Dryrobe wins trademark case against rival waterproof changing coat D-Robe
Dryrobe, the maker of huge waterproof towel-lined coats favoured by cold water swimming fans, has won a trademark case against a smaller label that must now stop selling items under the D-Robe brand within a week.A judge at the high court in London ruled the company was guilty of passing off its D-Robe changing robes and other goods as Dryrobe products and knew it was infringing its bigger rival’s trademark.The ruling described a Dryrobe as “an oversized waterproof coat with a towelled lining, designed for surfers or swimmers to change under whilst also drying them, keeping them warm, and protecting them from the weather”.The company has rigorously defended its brand against being used generically by publications and makers of similar clothing and is expected to seek compensation from D-Robe’s owners for trademark infringement.Dryrobe was created by the former financier Gideon Bright as an outdoor changing robe for surfers in 2010 and became the signature brand of the wild swimming craze
Budget uncertainty triggers plunge in UK construction activity; Trustpilot shares slump after short-seller claims – as it happened
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Rachel Reeves will not be investigated over pre-budget briefing, FCA says
The UK’s financial regulator has decided not to immediately investigate Rachel Reeves and the Treasury over pre-budget briefings but left the door open for further examination of what the Conservatives claimed amounted to market manipulation.In a letter addressed to the chair of the Treasury committee, Meg Hillier, the the chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said the regulator had turned down requests by politicians including the shadow chancellor, Mel Stride, to open an inquiry into briefings made before last week’s announcement by the chancellor.Nikhil Rathi said the FCA had “not commenced an enforcement investigation” into potential market abuse, but added that the regulator would consider the findings of a Treasury inquiry into pre-budget leaks.On Wednesday, the Treasury minister James Murray said the department’s permanent secretary, James Bowler, would review “security processes” to inform future events. He said the inquiry had the “full support” of Reeves and the “whole Treasury team”
What has gone wrong at Zipcar – and is UK car-sharing market dead?
Rotherhithe Community Kitchen in south London has been delivering hundreds of cooked meals a week for the last two years to pensioners and vulnerable residents. Yet the volunteer group’s plans have been thrown into disarray by the news that they will not have access to cars and vans on New Year’s Day.The group had relied on Zipcar, the car-sharing company that offered customers the ability to access its fleet of vehicles from the street using an app. The company caused shock across London on Monday when it said it would shut down UK operations from 1 January.It will mean many of the volunteers will be unable to collect food from the Felix Project, a charity that gathers surplus food from supermarkets, cafes and restaurants
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