Archer thankful for England support and vows: I don't care what others are thinking

There were questions raised about Archer's pace in the first Test against Pakistan, when he struggled to muster the ferocity that typified his entry into the international arena.

England are expected to keep faith with Archer for the second match in the series, which begins at Southampton's Rose Bowl on Thursday (August 13).

Captain Joe Root has been supportive, predicting England "will continue to see very special things" from Archer as long as he continues to learn from the ups and downs in his career.

Archer would love to be bowling consistently at an intimidating speed, but he is more concerned with his overall development.

"I cannot get away from the fact there is always attention towards the pace I am producing," Archer said in his Daily Mail column.

"From my perspective, I know I can bowl one or two 90mph deliveries a spell even when not everything is clicking, but to do it every ball, everything has to be working perfectly in unison and you have to be in that perfect, competitive mind frame.

"Not everything comes together all the time. People look back at my debut performance in the Ashes Test at Lord's last year and expect that kind of display everywhere, but it is unrealistic."

An absolute beauty from @JofraArcher! ?

Live Clips: https://t.co/z8nFZ1IrGF#ENGvPAK pic.twitter.com/7ZVcO6Z5xJ

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) August 5, 2020

Archer appealed for "more appreciation" of the challenges of fast bowling, and England would not want to push him to strain his body if it meant the Sussex paceman taking any physical risks.

The Barbados-born quick has 38 wickets in 10 Tests since making his debut against Australia in last year's Ashes, and with James Anderson and Stuart Broad in the twilight of their careers, England are hoping Archer proves an enduring and potent presence in their attack.

"People will judge you how they want and there are a lot of opinions out there. But I am a 25-year-old fast bowler trying to develop my game and the opinions that matter most to me are the ones of my team-mates," Archer said.

"As long as Joe Root and my England team-mates are fine, I really don't care what other people are thinking."

He added that "as long as the people in and around this circle are understanding - and it 100 per cent seems like they are - I am very happy and in a good head space".

Get breaking news alerts.

Allow Notifications

You have already subscribed

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Via https://www.mykhel.com/cricket/jofra-archer-criticism-pace-england-pakistan-second-test-joe-root-149250.html?utm_source=/rss/sports-cricket-fb.xml&utm_medium=2.16.110.133&utm_campaign=client-rss