Less speed, more wickets for Archer
Jofra Archer insisted he does not need to bowl at 90mph or above to help England to victory in the Ashes, as he described how he deliberately eased off the pace during his sensational sixwicket haul against Australia.
The 24-year-old dominated the opening day’s play of the second test in Leeds with figures of 6-45 without getting near to his previous 96.1mph (154.6kmh) speeds of the second test against Australia.
It later emerged that England’s new star man had arrived 20 minutes later than his team-mates at Headingley after traffic problems led him to leave his car in a nearby rugby field.
However, Archer said he was always ‘‘pretty relaxed’’ about leading the onslaught in which he returned the best figures at Headingley since Darren Gough in 1998.
‘‘I don’t need to bowl a lot of balls in the warmup,’’ he said. ‘‘I actually don’t think I need to bowl in the warmup at all.’’
His brilliant figures, and combination of speeds, prompted a stunned David Warner to compare Archer with the great South African fast bowler Dale Steyn. ‘‘That was world-class bowling at its best,’’ Warner said.
Archer thanked the English support for making him a cult hero.
‘‘The support is heart-warming,’’ Archer said. ‘‘Whenever I walk to my mark, everyone cheers. When we get a wicket it’s that much more support. It’s nice to feel welcomed and appreciated.’’
England sources said Archer had got stuck in traffic as he drove alone from the team’s Leeds hotel. However, Archer said there was never any danger of him missing the toss. ‘‘Actually I was early but there was a oneway street so I ended up having to park in the car park behind the rugby field,’’ he said.
Of his bowling display, he confirmed the conditions had allowed him to ease off. ‘‘I don’t need to run in and bowl 90mph every spell to get wickets,’’ he said.
‘‘There will be times in test matches you have to focus on hitting your length. There will be times to ramp it up as well, but you don’t have to go into it every innings.’’
Archer took five wickets in the final session to reverse the fortunes of the home side, after they were in danger of wasting ideal bowling conditions. He said: ‘‘This wasn’t a wicket where you had to run in and bowl 90mph. It was a bit softer on top, a bit of swing and nip. If you put it in the right areas you should get wickets.’’
After the second test, Archer had tweeted a picture of a tired old man getting out of a chair, but Archer said he had felt no discomfort going into yesterday. ‘‘I wasn’t too stiff,’’ he said. ‘‘I surprised myself. I pulled up OK so I might have to delete that.’’
Archer said his performances had not come as a surprise as ‘‘it’s the same thing’’ as playing on familiar grounds with his county, Sussex. ‘‘It’s nice to play the Ashes in England at grounds you played at already and are familiar with,’’ he said. ‘‘Sussex has the same hill, so to me it doesn’t feel like I’ve done anything different.’’
He put his success down to hard training. Warner’s comparison with Steyn’s bowling style was ‘‘really flattering’’, he added.
The former Australia test vicecaptain For the latest on the third Ashes test, go to stuff.co.nz
again had to put up with a barrage of boos over his part in ‘‘Sandpapergate’’, but said he had learned to relish the wind-ups. He said England’s bowling had been ‘‘incredible’’.
Of Archer, he said: ‘‘It’s a bit like how Dale Steyn with the new ball tried to use the conditions and then ramp it up when they need to. That was worldclass bowling at its best.’’
Only 52.1 overs were possible as the weather wrecked the first half of the day, but with Warner’s dicey 61 and Marnus Labuschagne’s battling 74 the only knocks of any note, Australia were skittled for 179.
Of the booing aimed in his direction by England fans, Warner, one of the trio back from a one-year ban, said: ‘‘They are allowed to do want they want. They pay to come in and watch cricket and are allowed to carry on if they want. If they carry on too much they get evicted. For us we just worry about what we have to do.
‘‘It’s hard enough trying to hit a swinging and seaming ball rather than worry about what the crowd are doing. They just come here to have fun, enjoy a good game of cricket and try and add some extra pressure on us. Some of us thrive on it, like me. Some of us don’t even listen to it.’’