Cricket: old hands give England the edge
“Welcome back, then, England,” said Barney Ronay in The Guardian. “Just about.” In their first one-day international (ODI) against
South Africa, they had looked badly out of sorts, and suffered a heavy defeat. Once the second ODI was rained off, it meant they had to win the third and final match in Johannesburg to avoid their first series defeat in three years. Sure enough they did it, winning by two wickets to draw the series 1-1 – yet this was still a “slightly torturous performance” from a team that won the World Cup just seven months ago.
If these players didn’t look like world champions, that’s because many of them aren’t, said Chris Stocks in The Times. Two of the heroes last summer, Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler, were rested for this series; Jofra Archer was injured. The priority wasn’t so much winning the third ODI as “learning whether the new players could cut it” – and Tom Banton, a 21-year-old batsman, and Saqib Mahmood, a 22-year-old fast bowler, both looked promising. Yet the best thing about this victory was the return of two old hands, Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali, said Mark Nicholas on ESPNcricinfo. Neither had played in an ODI since last summer, and it was clear they had benefited from the break: Rashid took three wickets for 51; Ali looked re-energised, and “bowled like he meant it”.
Archer remains England’s most talented ODI bowler, said Michael Vaughan in The Daily Telegraph. But he will be out for the next three months, having been diagnosed with a stress fracture to his right elbow. And when he returns, England will have to use him more selectively – in all formats. Since Archer’s debut last May, he has bowled 595 more deliveries in international cricket than his next most prolific teammate. But bowling at speeds of up to 96mph “puts an incredible strain on the body”, and this injury should be considered a warning sign. Keeping Archer fit will be especially important ahead of the Ashes in Australia next year: with his height and bounce, “he will be key”.