England captain Joe Root wants his side to take advantage of Australia star batsman Steve Smith’s absence from the third Ashes Test at Headingley starting Thursday.
World No. 2 batsman suffered delayed concussion symptoms after being hit on his neck by a 92mph bouncer from England pacer Jofra Archer during the drawn second Test at Lord’s.
His absence is a setback for Australia, while England have a slight doubt over opener Jason Roy after he suffered a suspected concussion batting in the nets.
Smith marked his return to longest format of the game after a 12-month ball-tampering ban with innings of 144 and 142 during Australia’s 251-run win in the first Test at Edgbaston that put his side 1-0 up.
“They will be huge shoes to fill,” Root said of Australia being without Smith. “It’s very unfortunate on their part but we had the challenge of Jimmy going down four overs into a Test match and had to manage that without a replacement.”
