England’s fast bowling trump card Jofra Archer sends potent Ashes warning to Australia
Wiping out the West Indies in the manner Australia did is fine – but a stirring giant on the horizon has changed the vibe of the Ashes, writes Robert Craddock.
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Beyond the milestone mayhem in the West Indies, Australia could hear the sound of distant thunder heading their way in the Ashes.
Jofra Archer is back.
After a 1597-day break from Test cricket when he looked all but cooked by stress fractures in his back and multiple operations on his elbow, the outstanding fast bowler has landed back in the five-day game not a moment too soon for England’s looming Ashes campaign.
Australia beware. England have found another piece of their Ashes puzzle. Even if Archer only plays two or three Tests the whole narrative of the series changes.
You sense that without him England simply would not have the firepower. With him they are a chance.
Archer, with imposing if not explosive match figures of 5-107, was England’s best bowler in their thrilling 22-run defeat of India in the third Test at Lord’s.
He wasn’t perfect and had one wayward spell but English captain Ben Stokes kept turning to him and was rewarded with some crucial dismissals such as when he uprooted the stumps of the dangerous Rishabh Pant a few balls after Pant has charged him and struck a straight boundary.
The incident stirred the tiger within and as Pant walked off Archer farewelled him with “charge that one’’.
From his first spell of the match until his last his speed remains the same – around 140kph – not blistering but fast enough to keep India on the hop.
It is not just Archer’s bowling England craves. It is his aura. Without him they have no-one Australia fears.
“You can just see what happens around the ground when he gets announced,” said Stokes.
“The crowd lifts, the atmosphere changes, the batters feel it when he comes on. To back up spells like he has done is going to do him the world of good.
“To get through this game unscathed and the way he has bowled is going to be very good for the mental side of what it takes to be a bowler in Test match cricket.”
England now have two squeaky wheels in their Ashes campaign.
Their opener Zac Crawley looks a shell of the player he was at his peak. Cummins, Starc and company will be all over him in the Ashes.
And their spinner, Shoaib Bashir is simply not good enough to threaten Australia in Australia.
If his mentor Graeme Swann, classy campaigner that he was, averaged 52 runs per wicket in Australia then what chance of success is Bashir?
Very little it would appear but England have a side with spirit, five bowlers, good batsmen and a daring leader. Bring it on.
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