It was ironic that Steve Smith couldn't evade the short ball that forced him to walk out of the field in the second Ashes Test match at Lord's on Saturday.

Caught out by a nasty Jofra Archer delivery that shot at the Aussie's unprotected part of the neck, just under the rim of the helmet, forced him to retire hurt at 80 on the second day.

But it wasn't before he entertained during his innings, not particularly with his flashy cover drives or pulls shots but with his unusual way of leaving deliveries.

His exaggerated movements, from gentle hops and 180-degree turns to paddling his bat down, to leave balls pitched way outside the off-stump made sure his blade was nowhere near the leather.

Whatever he was doing, it was working. Before Archer directed one straight at him, which was Smith's 152nd ball of the innings at the time.

Smith was pivotal for the visitors yet again, as he came out to bat at 60/2, which soon became 71/4. After a 31-run partnership with Matthew Wade and a 60-run stand with captain Tim Paine, Smith brought stability to the innings before he left the field with Australia 203/6, still trailing by 55 runs to England's 258.

The 30-year-old revealed later that he wasn't even aware about his outlandish technique.

"Someone sent something around on the WhatsApp group last night with me dancing around," Smith was quoted saying on the Cricket Australia website. "I actually don't know I'm doing that kind of stuff.

"I know I'm a little bit eccentric but I didn't realise I'm doing it that bad."

Feature image courtesy: AFP / Ian Kington

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The Ashes, 2019Steve SmithAustraliaEngland The Ashes