Sport
the times | Saturday July 18 2020 2GS 3
Ben Stokes says the England team will
give Jofra Archer their full support
throughout his enforced period of
self-isolation after he was left out of the
team for the second Test.
Archer, 25, was removed from
England’s squad on the first morning of
the match on Thursday after it was
discovered that he had breached the
strict protocols for the biosecure bubble
surrounding this Test series.
The fast bowler broke the rules by
going home to his apartment in Hove
after the end of the first Test in South-
ampton before driving to Manchester
on Monday evening. He now has to
spend five days isolated in his hotel
room at Emirates Old Trafford, in line
with the Covid-19 procedures at the
bubble, and he has been warned by
Ashley Giles, the director of England
men’s cricket, that he could face further
disciplinary action in the coming days.
Stokes, who is no stranger to what
Archer will be feeling having been
Jofra needs us right now – he can’t feel like he is on his own
removed from the away Ashes series in
2017-18 because of an incident outside a
Bristol nightclub, says it is important
that Archer knows he has the players
support.
“From us as players, this is the time
where our way of operating needs to
come through,” Stokes, the vice-cap-
tain, said. “We really need to be there to
support Jofra right now because
obviously it is a big talking point. He is
by himself because of everything going
on but it is about making sure he doesn’t
feel like he is by himself.
“The worst thing we can do as a team
right now is to just leave him and say
‘see you in five days’. Times like these
for people are very tough and you can
feel by yourself but I don’t think anyone
is going to let that happen.
“Jofra is a massive part of this group
as everyone is — it would be the same
if it was anyone else.
“It is all good being there for people
when things are going well and
smoothly. What really comes through
is how you operate with someone when
they need you the most.”Stokes, 29, batted for more than eight
hours spanning 111 overs, his longest
Test innings, scoring 176 off 356 balls in
a partnership of 260 with the opener
Dominic Sibley, but the all-rounder
admitted that he was more delighted by
the length of time he spent at the crease
than the three-figure milestone.
“I was more buzzing about facing 300
balls than I was about getting a
hundred,” he said of his tenth Test
hundred. “That is not something I
thought I would be capable of doing.
“It is all about being aware of the
conditions and how the game is being
played.
“Obviously, the more time spent out
in the middle, the more chance you
have of getting runs. To lose the toss
and be put into bat and then go and
make 450 as a team is amazing.
“We spoke after the Ageas Bowl [the
first Test that England lost by four
wickets] about being clinical and if you
have managed to get yourself in you’ve
got to go on and make it count.
“There are really promising signs for
us going forward. Having someone likeDom Sibley at the other end obviously
allows me to go through the gears as I
like to do.
“I asked Dom to be that rock and
have nothing faze him and just gobble
on as he does.”
Sibley, who scored the second Test
century of his fledgling international
career, said batting with Stokes helped
ease some of the pressure,
“It’s a great feeling,” Sibley, 24, said.
“Sometimes you think if you get one
[Test century] it might be a bit of a fluke
but to get two is great and helped put us
in a great position.
“We [him and Stokes] had a big part-
nership at Cape Town [in January] too
so there’s some good memories there.
He turned it on after he got to 100 and
started being expansive and that took
the pressure off me a bit.
“We spoke this morning that we
wanted to bat for a long part of the day
and get up to around 400-450.
“They bowled really well in the
morning and it did a bit and we also had
the new ball so it was a case of getting
through that.”Elizabeth Ammon Stokes in an elite group
Only six players have ten Tests
centuries and 100 Test wickets
Centuries Wickets10 15311 15113 11414 38326 23545 292Jacques Kallis (ICC/SA, 1995-2013)Garry Sobers (WI, 1954-74)Ian Botham (Eng, 1977-92)Carl Hooper (WI, 1987-2002)Ravi Shastri (Ind, 1981-92)Ben Stokes (Eng, 2013-20)England in the driving seat
Test sixes for Ben Stokes — only Kevin
Pietersen (81) and Andrew Flintoff (78)
have more for England71
Wickets against England in eight Tests
for Roston Chase — against all other
opponents he has 44 in 2622
JON SUPER/AP/POOL