JOFRA THEBREAKDOWN
Bowling coach STEFFAN JONES did a forensic analysis of Archer when they were at Rajasthan Royals this year. Here, he reveals what makes the quick so special
1 THE SILKY SMOOTH RUN-UP
HIS approach speed is between 7.1 and 7.4 metres per second (m/s). That’s high. You achieve 70 per cent of your maximum running velocity in your run-up, so Jofra would be able to run probably between 9.5-10m/s as a sprinter. But you can’t hit front foot contact faster than 70 per cent. Physically, you can’t do it. To get to 70 per cent takes seven strides. What makes Jofra stand out is that he makes it look easy. It’s effortless grace because his tendons are doing the work for him. Playing on the soft ground and beaches of the West Indies means he has a stiffness in his achilles tendon — he’s like a kangaroo. If you over-bowl on hard surfaces, your tendons become soft, more like pistons and that’s not conducive to fast bowling. He’s like a triple-jump athlete, he’s springy, so he’s maintaining energy. There’s not a lot of movement in his joints. His tendons do all the work. Fast bowling happens so quickly and the ground contact time is minimal, so it’s not about muscle. Muscles are there to stabilise joints, not work as a performance enhancer.
2 THE ‘IMPULSE STRIDE’ BEFORE DELIVERY
JOFRA is No 1 for maintaining speed into his impulse stride — the penultimate stride before landing. Fast bowlers have been taught to jump, but it’s more of a sprint, maintaining acceleration between every stride on to front-foot contact. He maintains his speed all the way through the crease. In fact, he increases his running speed from 6.5 to 7.1m/s from back foot to front. Not a lot of bowlers do that. He also has more force and more power than anyone else we have tested. His force in his approach is 47 newtons and his power is 360 watts, which are the highest numbers we have recorded. He is a gifted, efficient running machine. Every stride he runs, he lands just under his central mass — his belly — pulling himself forward with every single one. Most bowlers don’t do that. They run too far ahead of their central mass, which means every stride they take, they slow down. If they run in at 7 m/s, by the time they hit front-foot contact they will have slowed down to 5m/s.
3 THE ‘CATAPULT’ DELIVERY STRIDE
THE No 1 reason his bouncer is so effective is that he has a braced front leg on front-foot contact. I have not seen that in any other bowler. That’s the most effective, efficient and safe way to bowl because the fulcrum is at the hip, so there’s no loss of energy anywhere else. Twenty per cent of ball velocity comes from the height and speed of the central mass going into front-foot contact. Jofra on front-foot contact pulls himself through. It’s like a claw-back. It’s called swing-leg retraction — his leg comes down stiff before contact and pulls him forward like a catapult. Then Jofra’s central mass rises by about two or three inches vertically, which means he stretches up. When he delivers he’s releasing the ball from slightly higher than when he landed, which is extraordinary. It changes the trajectory, so he can bowl a fuller length and get the bounce. It’s a gift, and he’s an awesome talent.