Swann: Let Archer be England’s rocket man

ENGLAND are squandering the 90mph talents of paceman Jofra Archer. That’s the fear of Ashes hero Graeme Swann, who wants captain Joe Root and the Test selectors to develop a plan that will get the best out of the 25-year-old.

Swann reckons England must copy the blueprint Australia put in place to enable Mitchell Johnson to terrify the world’s best batsmen by limiting his workload.

Swann reckons Archer (above) must be asked to bowl no more than 12 overs a day, so he can “unleash hell”.

Now an ambassador for Betfair, Swann (below) said: “I don’t think England know how to use Jofra Archer properly.

“Jofra should be doing for England what Mitchell Johnson did for the Aussies in the 2013 Ashes series Down Under.

“He should be bowling 10 overs a day, maybe 12 overs maximum, and told to make sure every delivery is a rocket.

“He shouldn’t be holding back because he’s worried about bowling 25 overs.

“If you’ve got someone with his natural pace, then you wrap them up in cotton wool and send them down to fine leg for most of the day.

“Then for 10 or 12 overs you let them unleash hell in three-over bursts.

“England have got

Stuart Broad and

Jimmy Anderson to bowl long spells – and they still have the ability to take wickets.

“But in Jofra Archer they have got someone who will get into batsmen’s heads because he can send a ball down at 95mph.

“I’d hate to be having a conversation in six or seven years and talking about how we didn’t get the best out of him.”

Spinner Swann came through the ranks with paceman Steve Harmison, who helped England to Ashes glory in 2005 and 2009.

At one point, Harmison was regarded as the world’s premier paceman.

But Swann feels the Durham fast bowler could have been more productive if England had used him as a spearhead.

He said: “Harmy could also bowl at 90mph-plus without even thinking about it.

“But we asked him to bowl 25 overs every day and eventually that took its toll.”