Special Archer helps England defeat India at Lord’s

LONDON (AP):

It was July 14.

Of course Jofra Archer was going to open the bowling for England against India on the final day of the Lord's Test on Monday.

"Yeah, part of the reason I went with Jof this morning ... six years ago now to the day," England captain Ben Stokes said.

On July 14, 2019, Archer helped England win their first Cricket World Cup trophy in the most dramatic final against New Zealand, also at Lord's.

"He played a major role," Stokes said, "and I had a feeling he'd do something special (on Monday) and crack the game open."

In the fourth over of the day, Archer sent Rishabh Pant's off stump cartwheeling. Then in the day's eighth over, he got Washington Sundar with a fantastic one-hand caught-and-bowled.

Archer and Stokes combined to take 3-11 in the first 40 minutes and hastened India's demise from 58-4 overnight to 82-7. India, chasing 193, were eventually dismissed for 170 and England won by 22 runs to take a 2-1 lead in the five-match series.

Archer's first Test in 4-1/2 years produced an impressive match haul of five wickets, his most in a Test since December 2019.

"I had a gut feeling that Jof's going to do something in his first game back," Stokes said. "Every time he's announced the ground erupts, and when the speeds go up on the screen, the feeling changes."

Archer regularly worried India by bowling at speeds of up to 90 mph (145 kph). But he was managed by Stokes, never doing more than five-over spells and spaced well apart.

It frustrated Archer but he also understood after years of being sidelined by elbow and back injuries.

"It was pretty hectic, for the first game back," he told broadcaster Sky Sports. "I probably bowled a few more overs than I thought I would've (39.2 in the match) but every single one mattered today so I'm not too fussed about it.

"Only played one Test at Lord's (on debut in 2019) and that one was just as special as this one. It's been a long time coming, a lot of rehab, a lot of training. But moments like this make it worth it."

"Managing the workload is still very hard, being told you can bowl some days and not others."

Archer never thought he would not return to Test cricket. His previous Test was in February 2021 in Ahmedabad, and his previous home Test was in August 2020.

"I'm not totally out of the woods yet but it's a good start," he said. "The style of cricket that this team plays, it means I'm going to bowl a lot of overs."