Michael Vaughan Leaps To Defence Of Under-fire Jofra Archer

Former England captain Michael Vaughan has leapt to defence of Jofra Archer who has been facing criticism for quite some time now because of his performance in Tests. The Barbados-born pacer made a sensational start to his Test career during the last Ashes but has failed to deliver since then.

In the two-Test series in New Zealand, he picked up just two wickets while bowling 82 overs. In South Africa too, he failed to do well in the first Test. After picking up 1 wicket in the first innings of the Centurion Test, he picked up five in the second but was far from being impressive.

In the second innings, he conceded 6 runs per over during his spell of 17 overs and was taken to cleaners by Quinton de Kock before an injury sidelined him. And he was not at his best during the first Test of the recently-concluded Test against West Indies.

He went wicketless in the first innings although he regained some form in the second innings when he picked up three wickets on day five. It, however, did not stop West Indies from winning the game by four wickets and take the lead in the three-match series.

And as Jofra Archer continues to face criticism, Vaughan has provided him with some much-needed support. The Ashes-winning captain said criticism that  Archer doesn’t bowl at top speed often enough is “out of order”. Vaughan said it is “impossible” to consistently bowl in excess of 90mph.

“I’d have him in my team all the time. When I see those spells like I did yesterday, you just know he’s got that point of difference,” Vaughan told BBC.

During the first Test, former West Indies pacer Tino Best appeared to criticise Archer’s speeds, tweeting that Archer has “not bowled quickly” since last summer’s Ashes series against Australia. Responding to that, Vaughan said it is “impossible” for fast bowlers to reach top speed with every delivery.

“Going forward he will have frustrating days, he’s a young bowler. Will he become really consistent the older he gets? Maybe.

“Look at [Australia’s] Brett Lee and [Pakistan’s] Shoaib Akhtar. They have lots of spells where you just go ‘come on, you can crank it up’, but it’s impossible. The body just doesn’t allow you to do it every single over that you bowl.

“But when you get that click, that six or seven overs where everything is in sync and you see the ball flying down at 90mph-plus causing chaos, that’s why you put Jofra Archer in your team.

“I was delighted with Jofra’s spell yesterday – he was back to doing what he does best,” he added.

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