TYM TIME: MILLS CAN TAKE JOFRA SPOT
Vince: Mills can fill Archer gap
TYMAL MILLS must be brought in from the international cold to fill Jofra Archer’s World T20 boots.
That is the opinion of Southern Brave captain James Vince, who claims it is time England picked the left-arm speedster after a four-year absence.
The 29-year-old
Mills produced some fearsome displays during the Brave’s triumphant Hundred campaign.
And he helped finish off the Birmingham Phoenix batters in the final on Saturday in front of a frenzied 24,000 Lord’s crowd.
Mills has a superior T20 economy rate of 7.47 than Archer and has played in leagues all over the world despite being diagnosed with a congenital back problem in 2015.
He showed off his masterly death bowling as the Brave were crowned the inaugural men’s champions with a 32-run victory.
Archer’s elbow injury rules him out of this autumn’s
World T20 in UAE and Oman as well as the Ashes in Australia, and Vince said: “I hope Tymal gets the nod for the
World T20 because he deserves it. It makes sense, if Jofra isn’t available, to pick someone who can also bowl at 90mph plus and has his change-ups too.
“Not that his batting would get him picked but it has improved and he can slog a few. A few years ago you had to hide him in the field but no longer. He is more than a capable fielder now. “But his primary skill is his bowling, and to have the change of pace he has, and accuracy and skill he has with the slower ball, makes him incredibly tough to face. He knows what he’s doing and what he wants, and is very easy to captain.” In Saturday’s double-header, Oval Invincibles captured the women’s trophy as they saw off Southern Brave by 48 runs, and Vince believes The Hundred has been a huge success.
He said: “People were sceptical and you hear people anti-change before the competition starts. But for me the whole experience has been incredible and every game has been in front of big crowds, making great atmospheres.
“To do that on the back of Covid, where the stadiums were empty, brought the best out of players.”