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Ashes 2019: ‘Jofra Archer will be Steve Smith’s biggest challenge yet’, feels Shane Warne

Shane Warne feels that the actual test of Steve Smith is yet to come when he will be facing England pace spearhead Jofra Archer, who is all set to make his Test debut.

Ashes 2019: ‘Jofra Archer will be Steve Smith’s biggest challenge yet’, feels Shane Warne

Shane Warne file image. (Photo by William WEST / AFP)

In the first match of the Ashes series, former Australia captain Steve Smith, riding on his 144 and 142, announced his arrival in Test cricket after serving a one-year ban following the ball-tampering incident. But Australia legendary spin bowler Shane Warne feels that the actual test of the 30-year-old is yet to come when he will be facing England pace spearhead Jofra Archer, who is all set to make his Test debut.

“Steve (Smith) has been the star of the show so far, but now we have Jofra joining his Royals [and England] team-mates Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler,” Warne told International Cricket Council (ICC).

“Obviously, I would love to see Steve go on and score a hundred in every single innings for the rest of the Ashes, but with Jofra coming in, I think he’ll be set to face his biggest challenge yet, and this could make the difference in the upcoming Tests.

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“No one likes to face tall 90-mph bowlers. The loss of Anderson was such a blow for England, and they will really need Jofra to step up, but I think he has all the attributes to do just that. They (Archer and Smith) will have faced each other a lot in the nets, so if anyone will have a plan, it will be Jofra (Archer),” said Warne, who is the 2nd highest wicket-taker in Tests (708).

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