SPEED KING JOFRA BACK WITH A BANG
Archer lifts England World Cup hopes
IT had been 438 long days since Jofra Archer last played international cricket, a period that left him feeling like a ‘hamster on a wheel’. And if a costly first over threatened to add to his disorientation, his second, third and fourth underlined why England have invested in him so much time, money and hope.
With Pakistan 91 for four and in with a shout of knocking off 184 to take a 1-0 lead to Tuesday’s third T20 international in Cardiff, Archer had wicketkeeper Azam Khan caught at cover by Moeen Ali with a delivery measuring 90mph. The next ball, a yorker that pushed the speedometer to 91.3mph, might have trapped Iftikhar Ahmed leg-before but for a last-gasp bottom edge. With the required rate now at 10, the over cost only a single.
After a change of ends, another sharp over conceded only five as Pakistan fell further behind the clock. And when Archer returned for the 18th, he had the dangerous Imad Wasim caught low down by Liam Livingstone at deep point, helping him to figures of two for 28. His first over had gone for 15,
his last three for 13. That is how to shake off the rust.
There will be ups and downs ahead as Archer seeks to reacquaint himself with the demands of international cricket following his tireless rehab from elbow surgery. But the smile that greeted the demise of Azam was shared by colleagues: with Archer back in the attack, they will fancy their chances at next month’s World Cup.
On a day when Jos Buttler reasserted his presence at the top of the order with a domineering 84 off 51 balls, England left Birmingham last night feeling that two important pieces in their T20 jigsaw had slotted into place.
Asked about Archer, Buttler mixed excitement with caution.
‘I thought he was brilliant,’ he said. ‘You can see the emotion, taking wickets again — it’s fantastic. He’s not going to be the Jofra Archer of old straight away, but it was a really positive performance. It’s trying to get
overs into Jofra, but looking after him as well. I thought the whole bowling group was brilliant.’
Victory by 23 runs not only helped make up for the disappointment of Wednesday’s washout at Headingley: it laid down a marker of sorts ahead of England’s title defence in the Caribbean.
Their white-ball aura was badly diminished by their performance in the 50-over World Cup in the autumn. Days such as this are a useful reminder of better times.
As for the captain himself, this was an innings that he — and his team — needed. Not since February 2023, a full 30 innings ago, has Buttler scored so heavily for England. And it was the style as much as the substance that ought to send him to the Caribbean in good heart.
A slog-sweep for six off Pakistan’s expensive leg-spinner Shadab Khan built on England’s profitable six-over powerplay of 53 for one, and he later reached a
34-ball half-century with a trademark reverse scoop for six off Haris Rauf. As much as any shot, it signals he is in the mood.
But the highlight of his innings came when he reverse-swept Shadab for six, a shot once made famous at this ground by Kevin Pietersen during a Test match against Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan. Buttler’s runs were central to England’s triumph at the last T20 World Cup, in Australia in late 2022, and they will be vital again next month.
Will Jacks also looked in good touch after his IPL stint, making 37 off 23 balls, but the middle order lacked oomph, with Harry Brook bowled by the nagging left-arm spin of Imad Wasim for a single in his first game for England since before Christmas after missing the Test tour of India because of the illness, and subsequent death, of his grandmother.
But Archer carved his first ball, from Mohammad Amir, over backward point for four, turned
his second to midwicket for two, then stood-and-delivered his third over long-on for six, lifting England to 183.
Moeen took the momentum into Pakistan’s chase, having Mohammad Rizwan caught at midwicket from the third ball. Fakhar Zaman hit three huge sixes in a 21-ball 45, but England’s spinners were tidy, Chris Jordan prospered at the death and caught with typical assurance in the deep, and Archer proved unhittable.
Afterwards, Moeen with simple eloquence for the team: ‘It was just amazing to have him back.’
All of yesterday’s County scoreboards: Page 91