Debutant Archer’s duel against Smith was incredible theatre and drama, shares Jos Buttler

England wicket-keeper Jos Buttler vividly remembers young quick Jofra Archer’s debut at the Lords where he made the heads turn with his gruesome pace and impeccable accuracy. What made Archer’s debut such an awaited moment was his heroics in then recently-concluded World Cup where he showed the World a glimpse of the damage he can inflict with the ball in hand.

Buttler shared how incredible it was to watch Archer bowl so fearlessly on his debut and drop everyone’s jaws wide open with his pace. He added that his duel with an in-form Steven Smith was the most captivating part of the day’s play.

“That was Jofra's first Test - he came with a lot of expectations [on him] but for a guy to produce a spell on debut like he did was quite incredible. Any time we see some of the best Test cricket, it's always with great fast bowling; Jofra - a new kid on the block bowling extremely fast to the world's best batsman at Lord's in an Ashes Test,” Buttler told Sky Sports.

The 29-year-old recalled how everyone was on the foot when young Archer ran and how his pace kept increasing with every ball bowled. Buttler shared how worried the hosts were when Smith was hit near the head by Archer and was ruled out of the next game of the series with concussion.

"You could just feel that sense of anticipation every time that he ran in and you could see the speed gun getting quicker and quicker. There was that sense of something happening - incredible theatre and incredible drama. It was scary because got hit on his neck or just beneath. People are very aware of what happened to Phillip Hughes, so there was huge worry for everyone."