Archer receives his England cap on no-play day at Lord’s
The weather at Lord’s relented sufficiently to permit the obligatory kickabout, to give Steve Smith time to engage in a little batting practice in the outfield, and, for the day’s star turn, the presentation of Jofra Archer’s England cap.
It was quite the scene. Chris Jordan, Archer’s fellow Bajan and the man responsible for his defection from the West Indies via Sussex, stood encircled by the England squad to deliver his best-man speech.
“Jof, I’ve watched you not only grow as a cricketer, but as a human being. Every single challenge that has presented itself to you so far, you find a way of rising to it, and I don’t see Test cricket being any different.
“The courage and character you’ve shown so far in your short career will stand you in good stead, because there will be times when you need to call upon that,” said Jordan, who won eight Test caps.
“One of the first things you said to me after coming to England was that you wanted to play Test cricket for England. That time has come,” he added.
“You’ve got ten other guys, as well as an entire nation, supporting you. You’re part of a very elite club now, number 693. These aren’t just handed out, these are earned, and you’ve earned this. So go out there, do what you do best, entertain and, most of all, enjoy the moment.”
Though the team has not been named, the England hierarchy were not telling Australia anything they did not already know by confirming Archer in the starting line-up. All he has to do now is knock over Smith twice in the space of four days. It might be fewer, since the forecast is not encouraging.
There is little as dispiriting as rainfall at a cricket match, save perhaps the wet camping experience, rain on the piste, at tennis or at an outdoor boxing event.
The precipitation that had fallen all morning finally cleared during the lunch break, prompting the deployment of the Lord’s rapid-reaction weather squad.
Optimism stretched to the scheduling of the toss for 3pm, minutes before which it started hosing it down again, without respite. Eventually, the decision that there would be no play came at 4:30pm without a ball being bowled.