SA vs ENG | Jofra Archer not England’s greatest threat, feels Mark Boucher
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South Africa head coach Mark Boucher is of the opinion that Jofra Archer isn't England’s “greatest threat” despite his sheer ferocious pace. Boucher further said that the hosts will not be intimidated by the English pacer in Cape Town when they take on the visitors in the second Test.
South Africa halted their five-match losing streak in Tests by beating England by 107 runs in the first Test(in Centurion) of the four-match series. England were only 1 wicket down going into fourth day’s play, courtesy pacemen Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje, who took 7 out of the remaining 9 wickets to seal the deal for South Africa.
Jofra Archer burst onto the scene during this year’s Ashes and had an outstanding debut series. His performance in New Zealand last month was quite the opposite of his Ashes miracle. In the first innings in Centurion, Archer got the sole wicket of South Africa tailender Keshav Maharaj, however, he followed with a five-wicket haul in the second innings. He picked up 5 for 102 with an economy of close to 6 runs per over.
However, Boucher denied calling Archer England’s “greatest threat”.
"No, I wouldn't see him as England's greatest threat. He's got a spell in him that can ruffle a few feathers. We were in a position in the game to take him on a bit more. We were playing ahead of the game. We're in a position where we understand he's a wicket-taker, he's going to take wickets. But we're also not dartboards,” Boucher said dismissing that SA batters will get intimidated by Archer," Boucher said.
The Proteas coach also aired that he has given license to the batsmen to attack loose balls.
"I've always encouraged the batter to set up to score and, if there are opportunities to score, you've got to take that. He's under a bit of pressure as well because he was going for quite a few runs. He's a threat, yes, but they've also got quite a few other bowlers who are threats in that line-up,” Boucher expressed.
The former SA wicketkeeper also expressed his happiness in seeing the way SA batters have tackled Archer.
"I'm pretty happy with the way that we played him. He bowled well in the second innings, bowled with some heat on an up-and-down wicket.”
