Sussex in the winter: Archer spell is 'fastest I have faced'

It has been a busy week for Sussex’s cricket stars with ten in action around the world, ranging from New Zealand to Abu Dhabi.
Jofra Archer in action for England in New Zealand / Picture: Getty ImagesJofra Archer in action for England in New Zealand / Picture: Getty Images
Jofra Archer in action for England in New Zealand / Picture: Getty Images

After Chris Jordan helped England win the T20 series for England, it was Jofra Archer’s turn to light up New Zealand with England playing warm-up games versus New Zealand A and New Zealand XI ahead of the two-match Test series between the two countries.

Archer’s first game of the tour was versus New Zealand XI and he started well as he took 2-46 from 11 overs, with the game ending in a draw.

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Two days later, Archer was in action against New Zealand A, taking 2-58 from 17 overs in the first innings with opposition batsmen Glenn Phillips saying Archer’s spell to him was “the quickest he had faced in his life”.

Archer made a handy 41 not out in England’s first innings total of 405 before making another large contribution with the ball taking figures of 3-41 from 14 overs as New Zealand A finished on 169/8 with the match ending in another draw.

Travis Head, who will join Sussex for the 2020 season, looked to make an impression before Australia announced their squad for their summer series versus Pakistan.

Called up to the Australia A squad, Head made only 13 in the first innings as the hosts struggled versus a strong Pakistan bowling attack. Head managed to make amends as he finished 13 not out in the second innings to save Australia A from defeat.

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Head was able to earn himself a call-up to the Test squad for the series versus Pakistan, with the two-match series starting on November 21.

A smattering of Sussex players have been starring in the Abu Dhabi T10 league with the revolutionary tournament kick-starting its third season on Friday.

Luke Wright faced team-mates Phil Salt, Laurie Evans, George Garton and Jordan as Team Abu Dhabi took on Qalanders. Wright made 20 In Team Abu Dhabi’s final total of 103/6 with Jordan helping cause the damage with figures of 1-15 from two overs, Garton also bowling but going wicketless with figures of 0-18 from one over.

In reply, Salt looked to be guiding Qalanders home with an innings of 22 but was dismissed off the second last ball of the innings with team-mate Seekkuge Prasanna unable to hit two runs as the game ended in a tie.

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Both sides were able to get off the mark in their next games, with both beating Northern Warriors, Qalanders winning by 66 runs with contributions of 3-10 from Garton and 2-2 from Jordan and Team Abu Dhabi winning by six wickets, Wright making a decent contribution of 48.

Qalanders were involved for a third time in the week as they took on Maratha Arabians and despite Jordan and Garton again chipping in with the ball, they lost by 47 runs.

David Wiese was also involved in the T10 League with his side Bangla Tigers. The Tigers lost their first game versus Deccan Gladiators with Wiese taking 2-15 but they bounced back versus Karnataka Tuskers as Wiese struck the winning shot as they won by five wickets.

Another new Sussex signing, Ravi Bopara, was also in action with South African side Durban Heat in the Mzansi Super League. After the Heat’s first two games had been washed out, they will have been hoping to start their campaign with a win. Unfortunately, they were defeated by 10 runs by Cape Town Blitz with Bopara taking 1-33 and making 10 runs.

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In Australia, Danni Wyatt looked to help Melbourne Renegades find some consistency as they pushed for finals qualification.

Wyatt was in good form as she made scores of 45 not out and 57 as the Renegades picked up back-to-back wins versus Hobart Hurricanes and Sydney Sixers to push the Gades’ into a strong position to qualify for finals as they finished the week in fourth.