TRENT BRIDGE — England have rightly been criticised for getting almost every big decision wrong over the past two years or so. Yet their handling of Jofra Archer is one thing that cannot be faulted.
It is underestimated just how painstaking the fast bowler’s return to Test cricket has been following a chronic right-elbow injury that threatened his career.
Yet Archer’s performance on the third day in Nottingham is just about the only thing that is keeping England in a deciding Test against New Zealand that they really cannot afford to lose.
His five-over spell at the start of the tourists’ second-innings was simply electrifying. The 31-year-old is known for his high-octane pace, with the spell against Australia’s Steve Smith on his Test debut at Lord’s in 2019 is one of the most compelling passages of play in recent Ashes memory.
This latest star turn in Nottingham wasn’t quite in that category. Yet the way he roughed up New Zealand after they had established a first-innings lead of 84, was exactly what England needed.
Frightening from Jofra Archer A brutal blow to the helmet… Then three balls later pic.twitter.com/ALgMVQpq2b
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) June 27, 2026Archer’s intelligence to work out that going full bore on a deteriorating Trent Bridge pitch wasn’t the way to go actually made him more dangerous. He just had to put the ball in the right spot.
The short-pitched delivery that smashed into the helmet of Devon Conway was clocked at only 80mph. Yet it reared up and left the opener needing a lengthy concussion check that even the umpires were getting concerned about.
Three deliveries later, a rattled Conway backed away from a delivery that kissed the shoulder of his bat and flew into the hands of Joe Root at slip.
This all came after a blockbuster opening over of the innings that ended with New Zealand’s captain, Tom Latham, being pinned lbw.
At the end of the spell, Archer had two for 12 and New Zealand were 31 for two with the game back in the balance.
Whatever happens in the remaining two days of this match – and things could get ugly if England do not win – the way Archer has been handled has been an unqualified success.
New Zealander Simon Doull (right) has been critical of England’s handling of Archer (Photo: Getty)That’s despite constant criticism of both Archer and the England & Wales Cricket Board, primarily surrounding his involvement in the Indian Premier League.
Archer’s hunger to play Test cricket was questioned by former New Zealand bowler Simon Doull in the run-up to the opening match of this series at Lord’s. “How are you paying this guy up to £1m per year and he’s not available?” he lamented.
However, there has been a strict plan for Archer ever since he made his long-awaited international return in January 2023 in a one-day series in South Africa. Having had three operations on the elbow issue that first flared up in January 2020, there was no other way to go for England than be ultra-cautious.
It paid off last summer when after more than four years away from Test cricket, he returned against India at Lord’s. He played the next match at Old Trafford, too, before being rested for the series finale at The Oval.
You could argue that decision cost England the series – they lost the match by six runs – but it ensured Archer was on the plane for the Ashes series that followed.
That did not pan out the way England wanted, and Archer missed the final two Tests after sustaining a side injury. But he had his moments in Australia, taking nine wickets at 27 despite unwarranted criticism from the likes of Matthew Hayden for having the temerity to be seen carrying a pillow into the Gabba during the second Test in Brisbane.
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Chris Stocks: Two men are to blame for this England mess – they should both be sacked Transfer news: Surrey, Hampshire and Derbyshire eye deals for Sussex starsThe criticism surfaced again this summer when, after the IPL, England allowed him to miss the first Test of this series to recuperate at home in Barbados. Doull’s voice was the loudest in that debate but unknown to the Kiwi commentator, Archer was bowling in the nets at the Windward Cricket Club – just 150 metres from his house – in preparation for the final two Tests.
Speaking after Lord’s, coach Brendon McCullum said of Archer: “He’s following a plan. We completely trust Jof. He’s shown us in the past what he does, which is get himself ready based on the plans we get together and come up with. He’s always turned up in the condition we wanted from him.”
Those plans are carefully crafted by England’s medics and they are detailed – with the player himself receiving PDF files of what he is expected to do. As Archer said during the T20 World Cup in 2024: “Probably the only thing they haven’t planned out is the showers I take.”
Having only allowed him to play white-ball cricket during the first two and a half years of his international comeback, Archer has excelled on his return to Test cricket, taking 27 wickets at an average of 26. His strike-rate is one wicket every 50 balls.
Keeping him fit and firing is perhaps the most important job England have ahead of next summer’s Ashes.
Thankfully it is the one job they have a proven track record of not messing up. As we all saw in Nottingham.
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