But that day Archer was flying home from Mumbai, where he was trying to speed up his recovery from a stress fracture in his back and an injured elbow, but was once again troubled by pain as he bowled in the nets. Archer’s absence was felt badly as England were bowled out beyond repair by Heinrich Klaassen’s 61st-ball century and Buttler was unable to stop the runs. It would have been nice if Archer could have been called into action, as he is now.
Archer bowled his best in England’s World Cup win over the West Indies in St Lucia on Wednesday night, his crucial No. 16 being his to erase any threat of West Indies progression in the final five overs. Nicholas Pooran, who had scored 98 just 48 hours earlier, made 32 off 27 and with Liam Livingstone having conceded 20 in the previous over, West Indies were poised to surge at 137 for two after a difficult start.
But Pooran never struck Archer. He batted at third and missed, cut an unconvincing four from another and Buttler took the final over. Archer’s speed ranged from 65 to 93 mph and his cutter, slow back-of-hand ball and lethal pace skills gave Buttler an absolute trump card to bat at in awkward moments. Defeated, West Indies could only manage 43 runs in the final five overs.
Archer took figures of 1 for 34, bowling deliveries with little margin for error. He was the only pace bowler to complete his quota on the night, and his 6 wickets for 16 and economy rate of 1 run per ball made him England’s leading bowler in the World Cup.
He truly is a world-class player and much of the relevance will depend on him playing well and pain-free following a gradual return to Test cricket, with England hoping he will be fit and ready for the domestic series against India next summer.
Archer has made his name in T20 and can bowl in any situation because he can bowl essentially four death overs in an innings and also has a deadly change-up with his pace.
West Indies’ momentum waned in the 16th over, limiting them to a target below 200 on a strong pitch. This put England in command of the run chase, another crucial aspect of England’s performance. Jonny Bairstow and Phil Salt switched gears to ensure the scoring rate increased, which could prove decisive given that rain is forecast for the final group match against the United States in Barbados on Sunday.