T20 World Cup 2021: "I'm glad England got that defeat by South Africa out of the way in the group stage" - Jofra Archer
England paceman Jofra Archer shared his thoughts on their 2021 T20 World Cup semi-final against New Zealand. Archer feels Jason Roy's absence is an opportunity for England to flex their depth and opined their earlier loss to South Africa came at the right time.
Jason Roy's calf injury sustained against South Africa ruled him out of the tournament. The right-handed batsman did not return to bat, retiring hurt after four overs in England's last game of the league stage.
While James Vince replaced Roy, it looks unlikely he will open the innings with Jos Buttler.
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Writing in his column for the Daily Mail, Jofra Archer believes the ten-run defeat against the Proteas was a blessing in disguise as no team has won the T20 World Cup undefeated. Saying it instilled more confidence in England's chances, Jofra Archer wrote:
"I'll be honest with you, I'm a bit superstitious, so I'm glad England got that defeat by South Africa out of the way in the group stage. From memory, I've never seen a team go through an entire Twenty20 tournament without losing a game, so it bothered me a bit until then. It's helped me sleep a bit easier at night ahead of Wednesday's semi-final against New Zealand. The law of averages tells you that even the very best teams are due at least one loss in a competition like this, as they are beaten once every four or five games."
The 26-year old hailed Jos Buttler as arguably the best batsman in the world right now as he gives nightmares to the opposition with his innovative strokeplay. Archer added:
"Jason's absence means someone will have to slot into the opening role alongside Jos Buttler - who is either the best in the world right now or not far off it. I can't think of anyone better. He's a dangerous batter and opposition teams must scratch their heads trying to prepare for a player who can hit the same ball for six over long-on or paddle it into the stands at fine leg. That's pretty hard to defend against."
Skipper Eoin Morgan kept mum on Roy's replacement ahead of the semi-final on Wednesday in Abu Dhabi. The southpaw revealed they would decide on the team balance after looking at the pitch at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium.
"In this England team, someone always steps up" - Jofra Archer
Archer backed the likes of Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan and Sam Billings to perform any role in the semi-final. Highlighting the versatility of England's white-ball set-up, the speedster said:
"Jonny Bairstow is an opener in white-ball cricket, Dawid Malan can open and Sam Billings can come in somewhere in the middle order. Someone, somewhere is going to get an opportunity they wouldn't have had a week ago. In this team, someone always steps up and I believe that person could be any one of the XI who take the field in Abu Dhabi. It's a strength of the team that it won't always be the same person putting their hand up to contribute."
Archer is amongst a handful of injured England cricketers, failing to recover in time for the competition. All-rounder Ben Stokes didn't participate due to a mental-health break and Sam Curran picked up an injury before the event, having been named in the squad. Tymal Mills and Roy are the other two casualties.