Australia's star batsman Steve Smith will return to action on Thursday after missing the third Ashes Test because of concussion and laughed off the claim England pace bowler Jofra Archer was his nemesis. Smith, who has been cleared to play in the tour match with county side Derbyshire, suffered the concussion in the first innings of the drawn second Test at Lord's when he was hit by a 92mph Archer bouncer. However, the 30-year-old former Australia captain — who has scored two centuries and 92 in three innings in his first Test series since completing a 12-month ban for his role in a ball-tampering scandal — told cricket.com.au he did not consider Archer to be his bogeyman. "There's been a bit of talk that he's got the wood over me, but he hasn't actually got me out," said Smith. "He hit me on the head on a wicket that was a bit up and down at Lord's. "He actually didn't get me out. All the other bowlers have had more success against me, I daresay. I've faced them a bit more, but they've all got me out a lot more." Smith, who in order to be passed fit for the Derbyshire game had to face short fast bowling in the nets to test his reaction speed and reflexes, said it might work to his benefit if the England strategy in the fourth Test at Old Trafford next week is to pepper him with short-pitched bowling. "If they're bowling up there it means they can't nick me off, or hit me on the pad or hit the stumps," Smith said. "With the Dukes ball I don't know, it's an interesting ploy. So we'll see what happens." Smith has said he will change nothing in his approach to facing Archer after being hit by a short ball from England's tearaway paceman but admitted the blow had revived troubling memories of Phillip Hughes. Smith's former Australia teammate Hughes died after being struck with a bouncer during a Sheffield Shield match in Sydney in 2014, shining the spotlight on the dangers of short-pitched bowling. The former captain said his mind was racing after the immediate impact of the blow from Archer's delivery. "I had a few things running through my mind, particularly where I got hit," Smith told reporters. "Like a bit of the past sort of came up, if you know what I mean, from a few years ago. That was probably the first thing I thought about. Then I thought, 'I'm actually OK here'. I was a bit sad, but I was alright mentally for the rest of that afternoon." With Australia's best batsman sidelined at Headingley, all-rounder Ben Stokes scored a magnificent unbeaten century to carry Joe Root's England to victory and level the five-match series at 1-1 ahead of the fourth Test at Old Trafford next week. Smith did not relish being a spectator at Headingley but said he expected to be back in the thick of it in Manchester. Smith sounded equally comfortable with the prospect of an even heavier short ball barrage at Old Trafford. "If you bowl it up there it means they can't nick me off or hit me on the pad or hit the stumps," he shrugged. Governing body Cricket Australia is looking to make neck guards compulsory on helmets within a year to give batsmen more protection.Smith said he had tried them out and his heart-rate had gone up about "30 or 40" beats per minute. "I just feel claustrophobic. I compare it to being stuck in an MRI scan machine so it was different," he said. "At some point they're probably going to become mandatory so I am going to have to get used to them." — Agencies
