Jofra Archer’s Pace Made Jaiswal Play ‘Shocker’ Of A Stroke: Sir Geoff Boycott

Defending 192 against a strong Indian batting line-up, England needed a quick start at Lord’s to get into the game, and they got just that courtesy Jofra Archer. The returning Archer banged one into the wicket and Yashasvi Jaiswal went for an ill-fated hook shot that went straight up in the air and was caught by the wicketkeeper Jamie Smith. It was the second time in the Test Jaiswal fell to Archer without scoring. 

In his column for Telegraph Sport, former England captain Sir Geoff Boycott noted how Archer’s raw pace scrambled Jaiswal’s brain and made him play a ‘shocker’ of a stroke.

“I will say it again, pace is your ace when it comes to seam bowling. It adds a special dimension to the attack and some batsmen do daft things when the ball is whistling past their chin,” Boycott wrote in his column. 

“Genuine pace can scramble the brains of very good batsmen and Yashasvi Jaiswal in the second innings attempted a shocker of a stroke trying to hook him from way outside off stump. Normally he would have cut it over gully for an easy boundary.”

Archer, though, was far from done. He came back the next morning, and inside the first 20 minutes of the day, bowled arguably the ball of the series to send Rishabh Pant’s off-stump cartwheeling. 

“The ball Archer bowled to Rishabh Pant was a corker. Around the wicket, wide on the crease, pitched off stump and hit off stump at pace, which would dismiss many left-handers,” Boycott wrote. 

According to the former England captain, the hosts have a huge decision to make now, which is whether to play or rest Archer. The Lord’s Test was Archer’s first in four years, so it would be a significant risk to make him play two in a row, despite the eight-day break in between the games.

“England now have a conundrum. After a week’s rest and recovery do they play him next Test at Old Trafford or give him a longer break and save him for the fifth Test at the Oval? Can he play both with only three days recuperation between Old Trafford and the Oval?,” wrote Boycott.

“When you have an ace you want to play it all the time but this lad has had so many injuries you don’t want to overbowl him and have him break down again. A nice problem for England, let us hope they get it right.”