England Cricket Team and Jofra Archer (Source: @UtilitaBowl/X.com)
It was one hell of a performance from the English spearhead Jofra Archer against South Africa in the third ODI, who delivered an outstanding spell with the ball. Speaking after the game, Archer reckoned that this summer was a massive plus for him, considering he remained fit.
Archer's Outstanding Summer With The Ball
The third ODI turned out to be a huge relief for the English side, who had already lost the series to South Africa 2-0 and were coming into this game staring at a clean sweep, as the Proteas had already been ruthless in the two games before.
However, in this game, the English batters came up with a clear mindset of going after everything that was coming their way, and interestingly enough, batted the way they decided.
After the completion of the 50 overs, the scorecard read 414 for five, where Joe Root scored a blazing 100 while Jacob Bethell displayed his proper class, piling 110 in 82 deliveries, as England smashed runs after runs. Jamie Smith and Jos Buttler scored 62, supporting England in their pursuit of a big total.
For the first time in this series, the South African bowlers had no answers to the Three Lions' powerful batting lineup, who came at their best in Southampton.
Defending the target, Archer bagged four wickets, dismissing the South African top order with his blazing pace as England bowled the Proteas out for a paltry 72, winning by a mammoth margin of 342 runs.
Speaking after the game, Jofra Archer expressed his thoughts and mentioned that he and Brydon Carse had a conversation during the spell, wanting to knock the South African side over as quickly as possible, where other bowlers wouldn't even be needed. Although that didn't happen, they did establish a solid foundation for their side to gain a significant advantage.
"I told Carse, when we were bowling, let's just do it so nobody else has to bowl. Unfortunately, it didn't pan out that way, but we definitely did try. They were either going to get them or they were going to get bowled out trying to get them, and everyone's figures are pretty good today. It's good to win a game by that margin," Archer said after the game.
The player of the match in this encounter also gave a massive update about his injury, adding that this summer is a massive boost for him, considering he remained fit throughout the summer without getting injured like he had previously.
"To be injury-free is always a plus. This summer is a tick for me," he mentioned.
.jpg)
Jofra's Spell That Boosted His Confidence
Moreover, he was all praise for himself, believing that his spell was one without any bad balls, as he was focused on his line and length.
Archer also reckoned that he wasn't expecting to get another chance in the side after being taken into caution, considering his injury proneness, but confirmed that this was something that he will really cherish, considering he put up a strong show with the ball.
"There are some spells that you bowl like you hardly bowl a bad ball. You can bowl good balls that go for boundaries. But when every single ball that you've released, you're happy where it landed, today was one of those days," Archer further commented.
Further speaking, The 30-year-old was quite amused at the fact that they won by a massive margin, considering he didn't even look at the scoreboard during the match. While mentioning that the team was bowling with so much confidence, there was almost a chance generated every over, which was quite overwhelming for him.
"To be honest, I didn't really look at the scoreboard much. I actually don't know what they finished on, we were so focused on just trying to get off. But it was exciting. There was an 'ooh' or an 'aah' every single over," he concluded.
After this victory, the England side will be up against the South African team in the three-match T20I series, beginning on the 10th of September at Cardiff, Wales.
 (1).jpg?type=mq "Pakistan Cricketers Donate")
.jpg?type=mq "Arnav Chopra")