‘Archer can beat Australia with reverse swing – like I did in 2005’
Simon Jones starred at Old Trafford 14 years ago and tells Nick Hoult the England paceman can shine there this week
It was one of the images of the 2005 Ashes series. A huge crowd at Old Trafford as Simon Jones bent the ball in from way outside off stump to smash into the wickets of Michael Clarke, who was so flummoxed by the reverse swing he shouldered arms.
Reverse swing dominated that golden summer, with Jones and Andrew Flintoff brilliant exponents of unplayable deliveries that Australia never managed to counter successfully.
Jones has retired now, but was back at Old Trafford last week where he believes reverse swing could play a part for the first time in this current Specsavers Ashes series – making Jofra Archer even more dangerous for England.
Archer was in Hove on Friday practising with the Dukes ball and making it swing. Coaches at Sussex say he can bowl reverse and if he can start making the old ball talk at speeds above 90mph then it will complete him as the all-round fast-bowling package.
Old Trafford is the hardest pitch in the country. It has pace and carry, but it is abrasive too. The recent hot spell should also have dried out the used pitches next to the Test strip, making it easier for the ball to be scuffed up – thus promoting reverse swing.
Conditions in the series so far have worked against reverse. It was too wet at Edgbaston and Lord’s, while Headingley is a soft pitch that does not abrade the ball. But Old Trafford and the Oval will be better suited, especially if the weather remains dry, and Australian batsmen have a history of struggling to handle reverse swing.
Jones looks as fit as when he took seven wickets, including six for 53 in the first innings, during that dramatic drawn Test in Manchester 14 years ago when Ashes fever gripped the country and thousands were locked out on the final day, unable to buy a ticket. Jones said it was the only time he warmed up an hour before play in front of a full house. It was the moment when the players realised they were in the middle of a special summer.
The World Cup triumph and Ben Stokes’s heroics at Headingley to level the Ashes 1-1 have led to comparisons with 2005 for the way the Ashes has once again become a topic of national conversation. But while Stokes is playing the Flintoff role, can Archer reprise Jones and be a threat with new and old ball?
“Of course he can reverse it,” Jones told The Telegraph. “He has played in all different conditions in different countries, and it is when you rub shoulders with guys in different leagues they give you advice and you learn skills like reverse swing. He has the talent and cricket brain to make the most of reverse. Old Trafford is a great place to bowl reverse swing. If he can get the ball reversing both ways then he is the complete business because of his extra pace.”
Jones admits he struggled to sleep in 2005, could not eat and lost weight due to the tension of that summer. He never played for England again after bowling himself into the ground at Old Trafford and in the fourth Test at Trent Bridge. He worries about England over-bowling Archer, but believes the Sussex man has the lithe athleticism and laid-back personality to cope better with the workload and stress.
The battle with Steve Smith will be the headline moment of the next Test. Smith has dismissed suggestions Archer has a psychological hold over him after hitting him on the neck and leaving him with concussion.
“Jofra has now had a week off, so he should be fresh,” Jones said. “The Aussies will know that and they will fear it because he has had such an immense impact on the series. I have no worries about him. His action is so beautiful. It is so easy. It does not look like there is any stress on his body. He is so easy at the crease, he has a quick arm. He is tall, so he gets that extra bounce.
“For me the bouncer is the dangerous ball because of its length. It is not that short, and that is where batters get in trouble. It is coming at them at that awkward height of the throat or face. He knows when to bowl it and doesn’t overdo it. He can also pitch the ball up and swing it, so he has everything. England just need to look after him and he will have a lengthy and successful career.
“I love the way he is so relaxed. He has taken to it like a duck to
‘It will always be in the back of a batter’s mind if they have been hit. I don’t care who they are ’