Sport Third Specsavers Ashes Test
JONNY
BAIRSTOW
Jofra is so quick I need to wear
J
ofra Archer is the
quickest bowler I have
kept wicket to in my
career. He hits the gloves
hard and the hands take a
pounding. I wore two
inners under my keeping glovesN
ow that Chester-le-
Street no longer
stages Test cricket,
Headingley had
acquired the mantle
of the northernmost
Test ground in the world. And so,
in this age of heightened home
advantage, playing in Leeds should
suit England perfectly.
England’s recent Test record at
home is far better outside London,
where conditions tend to be morefor the first time at Lord’s to keep
for Jofra and they were needed.
They give a little bit of padding.
Not much, though, because the
hands get a bit sore.
Technically, it was a great
challenge keeping to him and I
love it because it makes you feel
alive. You keep wicket because you
constantly want to be involved in
the game and when Jofra is
bowling you know that you will
have to be prepared for anything
to happen. He can beat people on
the outside and the inside edge. He
has skills taking the ball away from
the right-hander and the left-
hander so you know you are in the
hunt for an edge.
As a keeper you have to deal
with his seam position. When it
comes past the bat his seam is very
upright so there is no real rotation
on the ball. Rotation causeswobble, which stops it from
swinging. But with Jofra because
he has such an upright seam it
swings late after it has passed the
batsman – and at his pace that
means you have to be ready to go
quickly. I just try to make sure my
head is over the top of the ball as
long as possible because that way
you are able to track its trajectory
until it nestles in the gloves.
If it does swing you can go with
the movement if your head is over
the ball. If your hands are away
from your body it is harder to track
because everything is out of sync
and you are more likely to make
a mistake.
Archer hits the gloves hard but
Ben Stokes was bowling at 90 mph;
Stuart Broad at 86 mph; so it was
relentless. If you catch the ball
correctly then it doesn’t sting. If it
wobbles on you and it doesn’tWhy England must avoid bowling too short
Hosts have a poor recent record in Leeds
Since 2008 England have won just three of their nine Tests at Headingley, their lowest
percentage at any home ground. A central reason for that is they have often bowled
too short, with almost a third of their deliveries falling short of a medium length.(^12) Short balls don't work at Headingley
Economy rate
4.78
Economy rate
1.75
39
Economy rate
4.7
(^) Wickets
18
Wickets
48
Wickets
Strike rate
35.5
Average
28.37
Strike rate
57.6
Average
16.89
Short length
Medium length
Full length
Strike rate
75.6
Average
59.33
Edgbaston
Lord's
Trent Bridge
The Oval
Headingley
Edgbaston
Headingley
The Oval
Lord's
Old Trafford
Chester-le-Street
The Rose Bowl
Trent Bridge
27.95
28.67
32.75
48.71
59.33
Short balls on this ground are notably ineffective. Since the start of 2015 short
deliveries average nearly 60 runs per wicket, almost four times as high as a ball on a
medium length. That average is easily the highest for the five Test venues this summer.
Average for short-pitched balls at
the five Test venues this summer
England’s Test record at home grounds since 2008 Average and strike-rate depending on where you bowl at Headingley
Jofra Archer
on
27. 95
28.67
32 75
ona
ummer.
e for short-pitched balls at
Test venues this summer
Jofra Archer
Win %
Lost
Drawn
Won
3
13
6 6 2 6 5 3
33.3%
54.2
54.5
60
66.7
66.7
83.3
100
1 6 1 2 1 1 1
5
5
4
2
2
One that gone
got away: Jonny
Bairstow was
beaten by a
couple of
deliveries as he
adjusted to facing
Jofra Archer for
the first time at
Lord’s
Do not be
seduced
by the
bounce
archetypally English and so more
exacting for touring teams, who
have had scant preparation, than in
the capital. Since 2008, England
have lost nine of the 35 Tests they
have played in London.
During that time they have been
defeated in just four of the 31 Tests
played at Edgbaston, Old Trafford,
Chester-le-Street, the Rose Bowl
and Trent Bridge. But Headingley
has been where England’s ruthless-
ness in the regions goes to die. Since
2008, they have lost five of their
nine Tests here, winning just three.
England’s defeats here often
have been particularly traumatic.
The 10-wicket loss to South Africa
in 2008 came after England
bafflingly gave a Test debut to
Darren Pattinson, “the Aussie roof
tiler” and elder brother of James,
who is in the Australia squad for
this year’s Tests. In 2009, the
previous Ashes Test at the ground,
England’s innings defeat prompted
widespread calls for Mark
Ramprakash to be recalled on the
brink of his 40th birthday.
Sri Lanka’s victory in 2014
brought Alastair Cook to the brink
of giving up the England captaincy.
Two years ago, West Indies chased
down 322 in the fourth innings.
Shai Hope’s twin centuries in that
Test were sandwiched between
two England innings victories in
the other three most recent Tests
here, which only serves to
intensify the mystery of
Headingley, a ground at which the
only thing reliable about England
in recent years has been their
ability to oscillate wildly between
sublime and supine.
Even their lone draw here this
century was turbulent: against
South Africa in 2012, Kevin
Pietersen was turfed out of the side
even while hitting a stupendous
- That Test began with England
omitting Graeme Swann, the totem
of their attack, so they could pick
all four of their right-arm pace
bowlers. Headingley, indeed, has
witnessed some of England’s most
curious selections in recent years:
the scene both of Pattinson’s sole
Test cap and Mike Smith’s lone cap,
against Australia in 1997 in a Test
NYNY
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You have to be prepared
for anything keeping to
England bowler – he is
the fastest I have faced
The Headingley surface
can lure bowlers into
over-aggressive lengths,
writes Tim Wigmore
4 *** Thursday 22 August 2019 The Daily Telegraph
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