ARCHER BEAMER BUST-UP
Warning for paceman caps humiliating day for England
Jofra archer was last night warned by referee andy Pycroft for intimidatory bowling on a day when england were hurried towards the prospect of a humiliating first Test defeat to South africa.
archer bowled two beamers in consecutive balls to nightwatchman anrich Nortje in the penultimate over of a tumultuous second day that saw 15 wickets fall and england’s fragility brutally exposed by South africa.
The day ended with a flashpoint when square leg umpire Paul reiffel appeared to signal no ball after Nortje ducked under the second beamer which would have led to archer being banned from bowling for the rest of the second innings.
But after archer and Stuart Broad pleaded for leniency, with the second ball not nearly as high as the first, the australian umpire seemed to change his mind after consulting with his colleague chris Gaffaney.
That infuriated South africa, with captain faf du Plessis and coach Mark Boucher both
seen marching to the umpires room at the close of play before Pycroft told England captain Joe Root that Archer was on his final warning ahead of today’s play. Veteran South African bowler Vernon Philander, who will be retiring from international cricket at the end of this series to join Somerset, hit out at Archer after returning the extraordinary figures of four for 16 off 14.2 overs. ‘For me it’s plain and simple,’ said 34-year-old Philander. ‘We’re playing a game and we’re setting an example for people coming to the game. You’ve got to make the right call as an umpire. Are we going to tolerate this or are we going to put a stop to it right here? The umpires have to deal with it and make the right call. ‘If you’re at square leg and call no ball you have to stand your ground. This is why Test cricket is called the purest format. Don’t try silly things that can cost you bowling another ball in the rest of the innings.’ Archer was defended by Joe Denly, who made his sixth half century in Test cricket before his dismissal sparked the latest abject England collapse from the riches of 142 for three. ‘I was at leg-slip so I wasn’t expecting two slower balls from Jofra to be honest,’ admitted Denly. ‘The first one was fair enough because he didn’t get it quite right but I didn’t expect the second one. It just missed the stumps so it was a fair enough delivery. ‘I saw him (Reiffel) put his arm out and I think he tucked it back in quite quickly as well. Having spoken to Chris Gaffaney they withdrew that second one because it only just missed the stumps. It wasn’t high enough to be considered a beamer.’ Denly remained upbeat despite England crashing to 181 all out in reply to South Africa’s 284, their last seven wickets falling for just 39 as they could not cope with the pace of Kagiso Rabada and Nortje and the relentless probing of Philander. South Africa advanced to 72 for four by the close, a lead of 175. ‘We’re still very much in this Test,’ Denly said. ‘I’d back us to chase down a target of hopefully below 300. I think there are runs to be had out there. There aren’t too many demons in the pitch and to get them four down was a great effort.’ But he admitted that England blew their chance to make a competitive score when he said: ‘Rabada and Philander bowled fantastically and made it very hard work for us. That new-ball spell from them was as good as it gets and they complement each other. But once that new ball wore off, and it was hot out there as well, they couldn’t charge in for too long and I found some fluency. ‘Myself and Ben Stokes started to get a good partnership going but I nicked one and we lost wickets after that. But it was a great fightback with the ball and we are in a good position, or at least a stronger position than an hour before the end, and it’s a big morning coming up. Hopefully us batters can get some runs. The new ball is tricky with the two world-class bowlers, but if we get through that there are runs to be had.’