Jofra Archer made a sensational return to One Day International (ODI) cricket on Tuesday. He proved it on an international stage in New Zealand. For all his wonderful efforts, England went down to defeat against the Black Caps. The Barbados-born fast bowler had never played an ODI in New Zealand before, but he finished the match with three wickets, demonstrating his potential to be a crucial player for the English team.
Archer’s bowling was exceptional throughout the match. In the end, he bowled 10 overs and delivered 51 dot balls. This is the joint most number of dot balls in an ODI match where he bowled a full quota of overs. His pace was the most eye-catching thing. [Smith] recorded his fastest delivery at a remarkable 90.2 mph and an average of 87.4 mph for two bowling spells. Archer finished the match with figures of 3-23. This effort was especially encouraging in his first start of the early winter meet.
He was quickly to the fore, trapping opener Will Young lbw with his second delivery. This is what occurred with the fourth delivery of the Black Caps’ innings. Archer splashed his disruptive talents on the very next delivery, dismissing Rachin Ravindra, who mustered a promising knock of 54 runs. He then followed this up by strangling Michael Bracewell’s wicket down the leg side.
Having fought through injury issues and fitness concerns in recent years, Archer’s YouTube performance represents quite the return. In addition, his showing featured a few high heat short balls that put the fear of Wong in hitters. England captain Harry Brook praised Archer’s return, stating, “Everyone loves watching him – 90mph and hoops it both ways. For him to bowl 3-23 is amazing. It is awesome to have him back.”
However, despite Archer’s heroics, this doesn’t hide the fact that England’s frail batting order is still letting the team down. Brook labelled the defeat as disappointing afterwards but sights are still set on a return to action in next week’s rematch. He remarked, “Disappointing to say the least. We have got to come back stronger and better and hopefully get at least one win against these boys who are second in the rankings.” He added, “We want to go out and entertain the world. It was only two or three games ago we got 400 against South Africa. It is not far away.”
New Zealand’s skipper Mitchell Santner acknowledged his team’s performance, stating, “It was a great game from us. The boys were exceptional.” His remarks go straight to the competitiveness of the game and point to the adversity England was up against.
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