It is not only express pace Jofra Archer has injected into England’s Test series against India. He is also the scourge of left-handers.
All of Archer’s five victims on his comeback at Lord’s last week were lefties and after twice dismissing opener Yashasvi Jaiswal cheaply, he has changed the dynamic at the start of India’s innings.
How Jaiswal — who had got India racing out of the blocks with big first-innings scores at Headingley and Edgbaston — responds will be one of the intriguing subplots when the series resumes in Manchester on Wednesday.
Archer, 30, took his Test haul to 47 wickets in 14 appearances in last week’s 22-run win, but his true value is revealed in the breakdown of those statistics.
28 of the 47 scalps are right-handers and have come at an average of 35.85, but his menace increases considerably against left-handers, with the other 19 costing just 21.42. The respective strike rates of a wicket every 72 balls compared to one every 43 are also telling.
So, what are the characteristics that will encourage England captain Ben Stokes to turn to Archer to combat Jaiswal with the new ball and Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar when they come to the crease later in the innings?
Jofra Archer has become the nemesis of left-handers upon his return to Test cricket
All of Archer’s five victims on his comeback at Lord’s last week against India were lefties
Twice dismissing opener Yashasvi Jaiswal cheaply, he has changed the dynamic at the start of India’s innings
‘Firstly, it’s the shape he gets on the ball,’ explains long-term training partner and ex-England colleague Chris Jordan. ‘His stock delivery predominantly tends to go into the right-hander and away from the left-hander.
‘The biggest thing, though, whether he goes over the wicket or round the wicket, is that he gets tight to the stumps, pitching the ball within the tramlines more often than not as a result.
‘If you’re pitching the ball on the stumps, you are forcing people to play, and with left-handers the angle opens up their left shoulders, squaring them up, and when you are able to move the ball like Jofra, it creates a lot of uncertainty.
‘He has the natural shape away but he can nip the ball off the seam both ways and that’s what makes him dangerous.’ Stuart Broad terrorised Australia’s David Warner late in their careers with a round-the-wicket policy, but whereas Broad went wider on the crease, Archer’s point of difference is operating in straighter lines.
And intriguingly, with the Ashes on the horizon, five of the Aussie XI in their most recent Test were left-handed. Jordan believes Archer’s all-round craft, such as being able to nip the ball both ways with a minimal change of action, is overlooked because of the fixation on his pace.
‘All the top bowlers around the world, whether you’re talking about Pat Cummins, Kagiso Rabada or Jasprit Bumrah, operate somewhere between 84-87mph as a rule and then slip themselves to 90 when they feel the time is right,’ Jordan tells Mail Sport.
‘Jofra was up at an average of 88-89 at Lord’s, but although so many people get caught up with his pace, his main attributes are his ability and skill levels.’
England team-mate Harry Brook agrees that Archer’s tendency to go ‘tight on the crease’ draws opponents into playing shots they wouldn’t otherwise.
Five of the Australia XI in their most recent Test – ahead of the Ashes – were left-handed
His long-term training partner Chris Jordan (right) has explained what makes him so threatening to lefties
‘Jaiswal tried to pull one with the ball going away, a fairly tough shot,’ said the batsman. ‘I have done that a few times. He is bowling 94 or 95mph and you have a split second to react, so if you are not quite right then you are walking back to the shed.’
Archer’s speed naturally dipped in the second spell of his first Test for four-and-a-half years, but being instructed by the umpires to remove the sleeve from his bowling arm — due to it bearing the name of a non-affiliated sponsor — roused him during the later overs of the first innings.
‘He always bowls a little bit quicker when he is angry,’ Brook said. ‘We have probably got a bit of a job this week to try to get him angry and try to blow them away.’
However, the faster bowlers will have their work cut out at Old Trafford, a ground that has lost its traditional pace and bounce over recent years. Lancashire’s four County Championship fixtures in Manchester have all ended in draws.
In a bid to generate some life, groundsman Matt Merchant will leave untouched the generous covering of grass that greeted the England players when they arrived for practice on Monday.
His team were also drenching the adjacent pitches in the hope that some of the moisture finds its way beneath the surface.
