Archer feels strain after batting failure
Paceman suffers cramp as high workload tells Hazlewood ‘astonished’ by England’s collapse
England admitted their shambolic batting had forced them to overuse Jofra Archer after he limped off with cramp during the home nation’s disastrous second day.
Joe Root’s side were dismissed for a calamitous 67 as their hopes of reclaiming the Ashes were left hanging by a thread. England’s pitiful opening innings placed a particularly heavy burden on Archer, who was forced to come off for treatment on his left thigh for half an hour, having bowled 69.5 overs during a gruelling nine days.
“We’d like to have given him a bit more of a break,” said Graham Thorpe, the England assistant coach. “Thirty overs is not quite enough. He came off with cramp and he seems all right.”
With England struggling, there were signs of tensions in this Test match, particularly between Jason Roy and Matthew Wade as well as Root and Marnus Labuschagne.
England had arrived on a sunny day at Headingley with a huge chance to play their way into a series-levelling position after toppling Australia for 179 but turned in a sorry, insipid display.
Archer, who had just a morning to recover from taking six wickets on Thursday, looked stiff and uncomfortable as he again led England’s bowling during Australia’s second innings. Thorpe said there were “no excuses” for England’s collapse. “We know we’ve missed an opportunity quite badly,” he said.
The side were sunk inside 28 overs for England’s third-lowest Ashes score on home turf and the eighth worst overall. Australia responded by reaching 171 for six at stumps, a lead of 283 that positions the holders to go 2-0 ahead with two to play.
Thorpe said England’s “pride had been dented”, but insisted his side can pull off a miracle by mounting a comeback today. “There’s no point us getting out of bed in the morning if we didn’t believe we can do something special,” he said.
He denied there was a crisis in English batting and claimed the bowlers had had the upper hand on both sides. “I wouldn’t say they’re playing for their futures,” he said. “Sports people always have to be optimistic when you have an opportunity still to do something.”
The tourists deserve considerable credit for a fine bowling performance, not least Josh Hazlewood’s highly-skilled five for 30, but the horror collapse has become a frustratingly frequent flaw.
Thorpe added: “We’re disappointed with the way we batted, we know that. It’s tough to take in the dressing room. At the end of the day they are 283 ahead so what I would say is that the game is not over from this position if we can knock them over. I have seen Test cricket with some strange endings.”
England’s morning display astonished Hazlewood. “I can’t remember a day like this,” he said, adding that the England dressing room will now be starting tomorrow “with a few scars”. “A 60 innings is a hard thing to come back from,” he added.
This was the fourth time since the start of 2018 that England have been blasted out in double figures – with three of those in the past seven Tests – and it increasingly looks like a structural problem that requires serious attention. Archer’s withdrawal with cramp left Ben Stokes with a mammoth workload.