The Test series between South Africa and England tied 1-1 at the moment, is headed towards an exciting finish. The third Test begins at Port Elizabeth, and England has a problem of plenty as far as their bowling is concerned, with Chris Woakes, Jofra Archer and Mark Wood all available for selection. Archer, who had picked up a five-wicket haul in the first Test but clearly wasn’t at his best, missed the second game due to an elbow injury. He is now fit for selection.
Since the World Cup in July and the Ashes, Archer has been unable to perform consistently and has been unable to leave his mark or cement a place in the side. He had a below-par tour to New Zealand, where Archer picked just two wickets in four innings.
However, former English skipper and current commentator Nasser Hussain believes that Archer is the best player to replace James Anderson in the squad and that the West Indian-born should be backed.
In his column for The Daily Hunt, Hussain wrote, “If Archer is only around 80 percent fit, then I can understand England leaving him out. But if he is fully fit and he says he is confident and fully recovered, then England has to put faith in him”.
“Just look at his statistics he has 3 five-wicket hauls in 7 Test matches, to put that in context, it is the same amount that Andrew Flintoff managed to pick in his entire career and Freddie was described by Ricky Ponting as one of the best fast bowlers that he faced,” added Hussain.
“This is not a Jofra Archer issue, it’s an England cricket problem. We tend to be wary of people who are perhaps are a little unconventional, going back to David Gower and Kevin Pietersen. The highly talented maverick who wants to do things his own way”.
