Just throw the new ball to Archer and watch him go
Imight be Australian but putting nationality aside my commitment is to Sussex and for one of our players to graduate from first- class cricket to test cricket is a real coup for everyone at the club, myself as firstteam coach included. And i would be throwing Jofra Archer the new ball on his test debut at Lord’s.
Anyone questioning how he will cope with the step-up to this level need only look back at the World Cup final and the way he conducted himself as a kid playing in his first tournament for England. he was given serious responsbility and handled it with a smile on his face.
he will be asked to perform multiple roles as a bowler and i am sure Joe Root will want him to create indecision among Australia’s batsmen. to operate with the older ball at times, or perhaps send down a couple of bouncers an over, or offer some tight line and length. Whatever role he is given, though, he will adapt and adjust.
there might be periods when nothing’s happening in the game and he is asked to put a couple of balls in the armpits of the Aussies to test their skill off the back foot.
the second-team game he played for Sussex last week will undoubtedly have blown away any cobwebs because he had come straight out of the World Cup and had been in twenty20 mode before that with Rajasthan Royals. i have no doubt he will cope with the rigours of bowling 20 overs a day with the Dukes ball. he’s young, fit and strong and we don’t want adapted players, we want adaptable players. he is one and will adjust.
Personally, i would be handing Jofra the new ball without a shadow of a doubt. With 450 test wickets to his name, Stuart Broad has probably earned the right to bowl the first over but i would be shocked if Jofra didn’t get the second, such is the impact he can have.
if England explore the option of playing Sam Curran, Jofra would potentially only bowl a short spell of three to four overs because while the ball remains nice and new — with just a bit of lacquer off it — you would want to give Curran some opportunities to use it. he is a
much less effective bowler if the ball’s not swinging so you need him to be on early in an innings. this would allow Joe Root to use Jofra in short, sharp bursts. it’s not to say he can’t bowl the longer spells — he can bowl eight, nine or 10 without a problem. he’s a racehorse. But it might be the way they see using him most effectively. Of course, the biggest challenge for England’s attack will be getting Steve Smith out. As a coach, i maintain that batting is all about hitting the ball where there are no fielders, and Smith is a master of this art. he hits the gap; then, when you block that gap off, he hits you to another spot. this, to me, is run-making at its purest. People are saying he possesses the closest batting technique to Sir Donald Bradman. my question would be: ‘Why aren’t we encouraging it more often in cricket?’ A lot of stuff is spoken about techniques but to me the correct technique is always the one that works for the individual. it’s not how you go about it, it’s the end result, so trust your own way of doing things. We get caught up in this textbook way of teaching batting. Yet i am all for encouraging individuality. One thing that shouldn’t be overlooked when discussing Smith is yes, his feet might be across his stumps, but his head is dead still. Like him, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Brian Lara, two other unorthodox players, were in the perfect position to address the ball at the point of the bowler’s release. they got themselves into similar positions as the ball came down the pitch to those with textbook techniques — the likes of Sachin tendulkar, Ricky Ponting and Rahul Dravid. it’s just how they got there that was a bit different and perhaps their bat was at a slightly different angle. So how to get a player like Smith out? the key would be to be ruthless and disciplined with a plan and be unwilling to leave that plan too quickly as England have a tendency to do. it’s about patience, bowling that tight corridor, that fourth stump line — if the ball nibbles back off the seam it’s challenging the off-stump, if it’s holding its line or going away it creates potential opportunities behind the wicket. So i would be focusing on a top- of-the- stumps length and being as boring as possible. Yes, manipulate your field a little bit now and again but don’t change the plan. Don’t stick with it for a few overs, stick with it for an hour, or even a whole session.