LONDON: JOFRA Archer bowled the fastest over of his Test career on Day Two of the Lord's Test. In the 73rd over, he breached the 90 mph mark with each of the six balls. The fastest ball was 93.1 mph while the slowest was 90.5 mph.
It might not have sounded amazing and unbelievable had the 30-year-old pacer been a regular part of England Test team as Archer loves the speed and is known to crank it up.
Given the fact that he was making a Test comeback after 1595 days and a long rehab post multiple surgeries on his elbow, the spell gained prominence. Not to forget the stress fracture on his back.
It was not only about speed as the bowler claimed 5/107 across the match, the joint most among the English bowlers, to hand his team a famous victory in a pulsating match. His scalps included the all-important wicket of Rishabh Pant on Day Five, which swung the balance in England's favour.
It was against India the Barbados-born fast bowler last played a Test. With the match held on a rank turner in Ahmedabad in February 2021, Archer had little impact on the outcome of the contest with the hosts winning the match. In between the two games, Archer had undergone a long rehabilitation and showed enough self-restraint from going full throttle to make sure the injury doesn't recur.
So it was obviously an emotional moment for Archer to make a winning comeback. "It was a long journey and I was a bit emotional," he told Sky after the game on Monday. "I tried my best not to be but when I got the first wicket I think that all went out of the window. All the joy. The whole crowd gave me a huge lift.
"The hardest part has been playing cricket for the last year and a half and still having the training wheels on talking about workloads - bowl today, don't bowl tomorrow," added Archer
"Sometimes you think you are ready but you never know until you do it. The safer way is the best way so I am not too fussed and this is surely worth the wait. The plans Keysey [England managing director of cricket Rob Key] and I made a few years ago are starting to fill the calendar. I am a bit speechless as to how things are coming on. I think I still have overs marked out until December so I am not totally out of the woods but this is a good start. It was very hectic for a first Test back. I bowled more overs than I thought I would," he added.
Incidentally, it was on the same day six years ago, that Archer bowled that Super Over against New Zealand in the World Cup final. On that day, the seamer kept his nerve to help England become world champions. Captain Ben Stokes had that in mind when he gave the ball to Archer on Monday morning replacing England's most successful bowler the previous day, Brydon Carse.
The bowler didn't disappoint as he had Pant before taking a one-handed return catch in his follow through to send back Washington Sundar. "Jof played a big role in that (World Cup final) and I just had one of those feelings he would do something special. He cracked the game open with his wickets. I had this gut-feeling something was going to happen. Sometimes your gut works, I guess," Stokes later told Sky
It would be no surprise if the seamer circles July 14. In 2019, he helped deliver England's biggest title. Six years later, Archer, after multiple injuries, surgeries and a lot of time consulting specialists across hospital rooms, is back in the big time.