Jofra Archer described his dazzling spell in England’s record-breaking 342-run victory over South Africa as one of those rare days when “you just don’t want to put the ball down.” His fiery burst left the visitors stunned at the Utilita Bowl, setting up the largest margin of victory in men’s 50-over international cricket.
Archer’s Magical Powerplay Spell
Archer ripped through South Africa’s top order with incredible figures of 4 for 18 in nine overs, including back-to-back wicket maidens. His early strikes reduced South Africa to 18 for 5 within 5 overs, ensuring the match was all but over before the powerplay ended.
“𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒍𝒚 𝒃𝒐𝒘𝒍 𝒂 𝒃𝒂𝒅 𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒍,” 𝑨𝒓𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅. “𝑻𝒐𝒅𝒂𝒚, 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒅𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕’𝒔 𝒂 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒃𝒐𝒘𝒍𝒆𝒓.”
With Brydon Carse chipping in with two wickets and Adil Rashid finishing the job with three scalps, South Africa folded for 72 in just 20.5 overs — the same number they needed to win the first ODI at Headingley.
Injury-Free and Back to His Best
The performance capped off a strong summer for Archer, who has fought through multiple injuries to reestablish himself in England’s setup. The pacer admitted he had not expected to play three consecutive matches, but being fit and firing gave him immense satisfaction.
“𝑻𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒋𝒖𝒓𝒚-𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒂 𝒑𝒍𝒖𝒔,” 𝑨𝒓𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒅. “𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒖𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒔 𝒂 𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒌 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒆.”
Archer’s first wicket came with just his second ball, dismissing Aiden Markram for a duck. He followed up with precision and bounce that South Africa’s batters simply couldn’t handle.
Although he claimed he bowled better in the series opener at Headingley — where he went wicketless despite conceding just eight runs in five overs — Archer was delighted to finally have wickets to show for his rhythm.
World-Record Win Sealed
When informed about the world-record margin, Archer admitted he hadn’t even been tracking the scoreboard.
“𝑻𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒕, 𝑰 𝒅𝒊𝒅𝒏’𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒃𝒐𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉,” 𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂 𝒔𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒆. “𝑾𝒆 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒄𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒋𝒐𝒃. 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒂𝒏 ‘𝒐𝒐𝒉’ 𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒏 ‘𝒂𝒂𝒉’ — 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒅𝒂𝒚.”
England’s thumping win not only restored pride after losing the series but also reinforced Archer’s status as one of the world’s most dangerous fast bowlers when fit and firing.
Also Read: Bethell Eyes Ashes Opportunity After Maiden ODI Century
