ICC World Cup 2019 | Knowing you have Jofra Archer in your side makes a big difference, says Moeen Ali

Having 180 international caps to his name spread across all the three formats of the game, Moeen Ali has faced all the top tier teams in the world and is one of the senior players in the squad on account of his immense experience. So it was quite a compliment for his compatriot Jofra Archer when Ali called him the fastest bowler he has ever faced.

“Jofra is amazing. He makes good batters do different things. That pace he has is incredible. He is the fastest I have ever faced. It is unbelievable. He gives us that something else, he can win you games even if he goes for a few runs,” Ali remarked.

Having broken into the squad on the eve of its announcement having not been a part of the provisional squad, there was a lot of pressure on Archer’s shoulder having been included in the first XI against South Africa on Thursday in what was only his fourth ODI. He delivered on his promise in excellent fashion, tearing through the opposition top order and ended with figures of 3/27 from his seven offers as the Proteas were reduced to a paltry 207 in response to England’s 311/8.

Ali revealed the team was under a lot of pressure after the team lost the toss but he was satisfied with the way they adapted to the conditions and now he can be confident of going into their future matches with a mindset to win.

“To bat like that showed that we really adapted to the wicket and it was great. I thought the boys did really well on what was a tough wicket. Everyone was a bit nervous. I was on the balcony watching and I think the pressure with being the home side and the number one side in the world was always going to be on. The guys played really well, it was a massive win for us,” he concluded.

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