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Ashes 2019: Justin Langer says Smith's concussion unfortunate but decision to rest him was a 'no-brainer'
Smith, who has scores of 142, 144 and 92 in the three innings that he has batted in thus far in the Ashes, was injured on the neck by a lethal Jofra Archer delivery that was bowled at 95mph in the second Test
Australia's in-form batsman Smith Smith, who has been ruled out of the third Ashes Test against England that starts from Thursday at Leeds, will be missed but the decision to rest him was a 'no-brainer' according to coach Justin Langer.
The 30-year old, who has scores of 142, 144 and 92 in the three innings that he has batted in thus far in the Ashes, was injured on the neck by a lethal Jofra Archer delivery that was bowled at 95mph. He was down on the ground for a while before walking away for scans. Though he returned to bat 40 minutes later on Day 4 at Lord's, the following day he felt groggy and did not take the field. He was eventually ruled out of the upcoming game.
No other batsman other than Smith has been able to make an impact from Australia in the series, with stalwarts like Usman Khawaja and David Warner yet to fire.
"When we followed the protocols he was probably a couple of days off being fit to be selected," said Langer at a press conference.
"It was really a no-brainer. He felt a bit better yesterday but he's not going to have enough time to tick off everything he's got to do."
"It is always a blow. No doubt about that. When you take your best players out it always has an impact.
"We have to make sure our senior players and the younger guys step up and fill what are almost unfillable shoes because he's the best player in the world."
