Ricky Ponting has doubled down on criticism of Jofra Archer after insisting the England quick embarrassed himself during the second Test feud with Steve Smith. The Aussie cricket legend says Archer needs to channel that aggression and bowl some consistent spells at his ferocious pace if England are to have any hope of saving the Ashes series, starting with the third Test in Adelaide.
Ponting was among the more vocal critics of Archer at the Gabba, and said his fiery scenes with Smith in the second innings came too late in the match for the tourists. Smith and Archer provided an explosive end to the pink-ball Test as the England quick sent down a succession of 150km/h deliveries that the Aussie dispatched to the boundary, prompting a war of words between the pair.
Ricky Ponting has challenged Jofra Archer to reproduce the same pace and aggression he showed during the fiery scenes with Steve Smith late in the second Ashes Test. Pic: Getty
Smith could be heard telling Archer he only bowls fast when there’s nothing to play for as Australia coasted towards an eight-wicket victory. The Aussie skipper even dropped an ironic “champion” line on Archer just to rub salt into the wounds, with Ponting suggesting the Englishman should have shown the same sort of fight earlier in the Test when the match was still on the line.
“Jofra’s finally come to life. When the second Test match is gone he starts chirping. Too late for that, champ,” Ponting said in commentary for Channel 7. “That’s what Smithy said to him as well. Bowling quick now when the game’s over, good onya. Now they’re all getting started. Too late boys.”
Ricky Ponting challenges Jofra Archer after Gabba fireworks
Speaking ahead of the third Test in Adelaide, starting on Wednesday, Ponting says he has no regrets about the swipe at Archer. The former Australia captain pointed out that the Englishman’s pace has been well down at times throughout the series, and that his fastest spell came when the second Test was effectively over at the Gabba.
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And Ponting said the challenge now for Archer is to reproduce that when England really need it. “For Jofra, he just embarrassed himself, and he embarrassed his team the other night, that’s what I make of that,” Ponting told SEN radio. “To bowl his fastest spell ever in Test cricket, when Australia’s chasing 60… it has been there the whole time, it’s been up his sleeve, and England have needed him to do it, and he hasn’t been willing to do it.
“Day three, when they needed him to do it, he rocks up with his pillow under his arm, and that was always going to be a bad day for England from that moment. As soon as anyone saw that it was going to be ‘OK, there’s their mindset for the day.
“They’re just going to rock up and Australia’s going to fall over and we’ll bowl them out’. Well, that doesn’t happen against Australia, it doesn’t happen in Ashes cricket.”
Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting says England quick Jofra Archer embarrassed himself during the war of words with Steve Smith. Pic: Getty
Archer showed in Brisbane that he has the ability to bowl consistently up around the 150km/h mark. And with fellow quick Mark Wood ruled out of the rest of the series with a knee injury, it leaves an even bigger onus on Archer to lead England’s pace attack.
“Now that England know that he can do it, then how can he not rock out and do that first morning in Adelaide? He has to do that now, that’s if in fact they haven’t had enough,” Ponting added. “Maybe what they saw the other day was just the straw that broke the camel’s back, and it’s, ‘if he’s not willing to do it for the team, then we’ll find someone else that will’, who knows.
“They’ve got lots of questions that need to be answered, but for Stokes, he must sit back and think, ‘Oh my god, where has that been? Why haven’t you been able to do that for me for the last four days that we’ve been in the field?’. So, yep, there’s a bit of soul searching, and I’m sure some pretty stern conversations have probably already been had around that dressing room.”