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Ashes 2019: Glenn McGrath loves what he sees in Jofra Archer
Jofra Archer took the cricketing fraternity by storm on his Test debut, bowling hostile spells which put even the likes of Steve Smith in all sorts of discomfort during the course of the game, reminding fans of the famous bodyline series.
The legendary Glenn McGrath is a big supporter of Jofra Archer and feels the England pace sensation is going to play Test cricket for a long time.
“I’ve been a big supporter of Archer for a long time and I love what I see there,” McGrath was quoted as saying by BBC where he will be part of the Test Match Special commentary team and contribute a regular column to the BBC Sport website.
“It’s quite rare to be able to bowl with pace and accuracy for such a long time. To have pace is so unique and with Archer, it is all natural. His action doesn’t look too stressful, he has a nice, smooth run-up and goes through the crease really well.
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It’s a fairly stress-free action and he’s young and fit. He keeps it simple: “He just comes in, bowls good areas and with good pace.”
Archer took the cricketing fraternity by storm on his Test debut, bowling hostile spells which put even the likes of Steve Smith in all sorts of discomfort during the course of the game, reminding fans of the famous bodyline series.
“At Lord’s he bowled some quite lengthy spells, but he maintained his pace throughout his overs. That is a brilliant sign that he can bowl long spells at top pace then come back and bowl second and third spells no problem at all,” McGrath pointed out.
“With a guy with his action and technique, I don’t see any reason why he can’t play plenty of Tests. It’s just experience that he needs and he will be fine,” said the former Australian fast bowler regarded as one of the finest the game has produced.
McGrath, 49, also stressed that Archer has a positive impact on his bowling partner as he bowls that quick, drawing parallel with him and Brett Lee in action in the past.
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“Because he is such a natural, fast bowling comes quite easy to him. I think accuracy is always going to be nearly second nature. He’s not going to have a spell where he bowls a heap down the leg side.
“Archer hit 96mph at one point in the Lord’s Test -- it is quite rare to see a guy bowling that pace and it has a positive effect on the bowler at the other end. I bowled in tandem with Brett Lee, who produced some fast, fiery spells. When you’ve got someone bowling up above 90mph, it has a fear factor that not many people really enjoy.
“If you’ve got a guy bowling that pace and then you’re keeping it tight at the other end, you can really work in partnership and build pressure, because the batsmen have no scoring options.
“With Stuart Broad at the other end who bowls pretty good areas, Archer just ran in, hit good lengths, good pace, got that bounce and it was tough work for the batsmen.”
