It felt like a day when the ball simply obeyed. Jofra Archer, still buzzing after England’s record 342-run win over South Africa at the Utilita Bowl, admitted it was “one of those times you don’t want to put the ball down”. His four wickets up top all but ended the contest inside 25 minutes and England, although the series was already lost, left with a consolation result of historic proportions.
Key facts first. England posted 360 for 6, South Africa replied with 18 for 5 and then 49 all out. The margin – the biggest in any men’s ODI – overtook England’s previous best by a neat 100 runs. Archer finished with 4 for 18 from nine hostile overs; Adil Rashid mopped up with three; Brydon Carse chipped in with two early strikes. Temba Bavuma’s absence through a calf strain did not help the visitors but, truthfully, it felt irrelevant once Archer had the new ball darting.
Approached afterwards, Archer looked almost surprised to have played three games in a row. “To be injury-free is always a plus. This summer is a tick for me,” he said, a point that will soothe England’s medical staff as much as the selectors. The fast bowler’s recall to the Test side earlier in the summer had already hinted at renewed trust in his body; this white-ball burst confirms it.
The spell itself warrants closer inspection. Second ball: Aiden Markram fenced loosely, edge through to Jos Buttler, gone for nought. Two overs later: Ryan Rickelton, same route, same outcome. Next up Matthew Breetzke, undone by extra bounce, then Tristan Stubbs postcard-perfect fourth stump nick. “There are some spells that you bowl like you hardly bowl a bad ball,” Archer reflected. “You can bowl good balls that go for boundaries. But when every single ball that you’ve released, you’re happy where it landed, today was one of those days.”
Curiously, he felt even sharper at Headingley in game one when he returned miserly figures of 5-1-8-0. “I felt I bowled better at Headingley, but obviously I didn’t get the wickets to show,” he confessed, hinting that numbers rarely capture the full story. That afternoon Sonny Baker’s seven-over debut cost 76, so the mood music was very different. Here, conditions aligned: a hard white ball, a tacky surface, heavy cloud cover. “For the first four or five overs, well, actually the first 10 of the powerplay today, it was overcast. The ball was hard, the pitch was nipping.”
Carse, who removed David Miller and Heinrich Klaasen, said simply, “Jof makes it easier for the rest of us. You see guys hopping about and you want a piece of it.” England’s captain Buttler praised the pair’s intent, noting the plan had been to attack even with the series gone. “It’s one thing talking about front-foot cricket, another watching them do it,” he said.
From a South African angle, stand-in skipper Markram accepted they had been outplayed. “Credit to Jofra, he asked questions we didn’t answer,” he offered, a touch blunt but accurate.
England now break until the Champions Trophy qualifiers in October. For Archer, the takeaway is simple: summer survived, rhythm rediscovered. As he packed his kit, he joked with Carse, “let’s just do it so nobody else has to bowl,” still smiling at the thought. The oohs and aahs can wait until next time.
