Dom delighted to have Archer on his side

DOM SIBLEY will be glad to have Jofra Archer on his side when he makes his Test debut in New Zealand tonight.

Opener Sibley looks certain to make his five-day bow and while he will hope to impress with the bat, he feels it is Archer’s pace with the ball which could make the difference.

Archer’s speed and hostility has already had an impact in the last few days as his bouncer thudded into the helmet of New Zealand A batsman Hamish Rutherford, who was ruled out of the rest of the warm-up game.

Sibley believes Archer can make the difference when conditions are unhelpful, saying: ‘He’s got a special talent, it looks effortless.

‘He gets that steep bounce because he releases it from such a high point. Most sports, whether it’s rugby, football or cricket, having someone who’s quick, it sort of scares people at certain times. Having that pace, it gives batsmen something different to think about.

‘It’s massive to have for us in the middle overs, for sure.’ New Zealand coach Gary Stead, meanwhile, is pondering whether to ‘fight fire with fire’ and hand Kiwi quick Lockie Ferguson (right) his Test bow.

Ferguson, like Archer, shone in the World Cup as he also exceeded 90mph and Stead said: ‘[Archer’s pace] is obviously a point of difference but we’ve got someone in our squad who bowls at a similar type of speed as well in Lockie Ferguson.

‘It’s really exciting for Lockie and a potential debut for him at some stage as well to be able to fight fire with fire.’