The third Test match between India and England at Lord’s was not just a comeback for England in the James Anderson-Sachin Tendulkar series, but also a remarkable return for England’s scintillating performer, Jofra Archer, after 1,597 days away from red-ball cricket’s biggest stage.
The 30-year-old fast bowler, on his return, finished with figures of 5-107 across the match. While this comeback didn’t feature the annihilation or five-wicket haul of a Mitch Starc, who took 6-9 runs against West Indies on the same day, it was nonetheless a comeback that will do Archer a world of good for the mental side of what it takes to be a bowler in Test match cricket in years to come. This is good news for England, especially keeping in mind the Ashes Down Under later this year.
(Gareth Copley/Getty Images)
Any doubts if Archer still had the skill for red ball cricket were put to rest in his first over of the match when he dismissed Yashasvi Jaiswal with his third delivery. Having delivered with the new ball, England captain Ben Stokes turned to Archer again and again throughout the match for breakthroughs, and Archer delivered, especially in the second innings.
Archer’s new-ball spell in India’s second innings on the fourth evening, despite including another dismissal of Jaiswal, was wayward, but he still opened the bowling on day five with the game in the balance. Archer responded by ripping out India’s most dangerous batter, Rishabh Pant’s off-stump for nine runs and added some words into the departing India wicketkeeper’s ear.
Whether on the ground or watching the live telecast, one could feel the crowd on their feet, the atmosphere changing whenever Jofra took the ball in his hand. Even the batters felt it when he came on.
Though remarkable, Jofra Archer’s performance was complemented by Ben Stokes’ lionhearted nine-over spell. But nonetheless, Archer’s comeback was sensational; he bowled with an X-factor, and his pace was never down throughout the match.
Jofra bowled the third quickest new-ball spell on record by an England bowler on the second day, he averaged 87 mph on Day 3, 87.8 mph on Day 4, and 87.4 mph on Day 5. He was able to top 90 mph with 10 deliveries on the final day of the Lord’s Test.
In fact, England’s victory did have Jofra Archer’s signature. The Mohammed Siraj dismissal by Shoaib Bashir, which sealed England’s win in the final session, came on the second ball Siraj faced after being hit on the arm by a brutal Archer bouncer. Such a delivery can unsettle even a top-order batsman. Thus, the architect of England’s win was Jofra Archer.
In fact, Jofra got better and better as the game progressed, with better control and inducing more false shots from Indian batsmen. As per the stats from CricViz, the false shot percentage off his bowling climbed from 10% on Day 2 to 19% on Day 5.
The more Archer bowls, the better he will get. England has an experienced top and middle-order batting. If Archer comes good, Mark Wood is fit and firing along with Chris Woakes, who also made a vital contribution with both bat and ball; England’s bowling looks to be in great shape heading into the Ashes later this year.
The onus will be on England’s batters to score big in the first innings. England does have the experience and talent among batters to do the job in Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Harry Brook, Joe Root, and talismanic all-rounder Ben Stokes.
Australia will start as favourite, as they did in the World Test Championship final, but don’t be surprised if England put up a fight to take it down to the last Test match of the series to decide the winner. Jofra Archer vs. Steve Smith is a battle to watch out for, especially considering the weak top-order batsmen in Sam Konstas, Cameron Green, and an out-of-form Usman Khawaja. Archer against Australia’s crisis man Alex Carey will be another contest to watch out for, and so will be how Jofra unsettles Australian lower-order batsmen with his barrage of bouncers.
