Ashes 2019 | Jofra Archer a real asset to England, says Steve Waugh

08/20/2019

Former Australia captain Steve Waugh has stated that Jofra Archer has the 'X-factor' that unsettles opposition batting lineups and he is a real asset to this English team. Waugh has further added that the evenly-balanced Ashes series would be decided by a few key moments and teams should be careful.

On his Test debut at Lord's, Archer made everyone sit up and take notice with several spells of menacing quick bowling, which hurried the Australian batsmen up and forced them into submission when the ball was coming above 145kph. The deceptive bouncer was the key for him as Steve Smith failed to fend away from the line of action and was hit twice before being concussed off the ground. Waugh is very impressed with Archer's talent and called him a real asset for England.

"It gives you the X-factor, knowing that you have that sort of bowler in your lineup when you can intimidate the opposition. You can make things happen on a flat pitch and potentially get wickets in clumps. He's a real asset to England," Waugh told a Cricket Australia podcast.

The Barbados-born 24-year-old bowled 44 overs and took 5-91 at Lord's, ensuring one of the best Test debuts of all-time in Test cricket, at least by the measure of impact. The former Aussie captain, who during his days had played players like Malcolm Marshall, Curtly Ambrose, and Shoaib Akhtar in a career that had more than 10,000 Test runs, said that Archer had one of the more economical bowling actions he had seen.

"I can't say I have ever seen anyone bowl like that. He ambles in, gets very close to the crease, makes the most of his height. He has got a very simple action and in a lot of ways a similar action to (Australian fast bowler) Glenn McGrath in that it's very repeatable. I can't see too much going wrong with it. His control is very good for that reason. He has that deceptive pace and has a wicked bouncer so that is something our team will have to analyse and work out to play him," Waugh said.

While Australia won the first Test by 251 runs on the back of dual centuries by Steve Smith, fortunes fluctuated big-time in the second Test before it ended as a draw. Waugh said that holding on to few key moments would ultimately decide the future of the series.

"It really depends on who wins the big moments. It will come down to who is consistent. I think we can win the series and England will probably say they think they can. It will make for a great last three Test matches," he added.

The third Test of the series will be played at Leeds, starting on Thursday.