Head coach Justin Langer remembered the tragic passing of the late Phil Hughes, after Australian batsman Steven Smith was felled by a short delivery from England fast bowler Jofra Archer on day four of the second Ashes Test at Lord’s in London on Saturday.

Smith was struck on the forearm and the back of the neck during a fierce spell from Test debutant Archer. The latter strike floored Smith, who retired hurt, but later returned. He was eventually dismissed lbw by seamer Chris Woakes for 92.

Eight more runs would have allowed Smith to become the first Ashes series cricketer to score four consecutive Test centuries in the United Kingdom.

The fidgety right-hander batted without a helmet stem guard, which were introduced but not made compulsory after Hughes died in late 2014. Hughes was struck on the neck by a short delivery during a first-class fixture. The injury led to his tragic death.

‘I didn’t realise, it might be my error but I didn’t realise they weren’t mandatory until today. I think Steve wrote in his book he just doesn’t like or feel comfortable with a stem guard. He’s got all these idiosyncrasies everyone’s talking about – he doesn’t like having shoelaces he can see, doesn’t like his shoes being dirty, so it’s the same, it just doesn’t feel right,’ said Langer.

‘I’m sure after today it’ll get talked about again, I know they came in after the tragedy of Hughes. So I’m sure it’ll get talked about, and he might rethink it now after seeing what happened today, but you’d have to ask him that.

‘At the moment the players have a choice, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they become mandatory in the future.’

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