On-and-off Jof underlines where England need a spell

There was a telling exchange between Stuart Broad and Brendon McCullum in the aftermath of England's second Test defeat. Broad, the 604-wicket ex-Test quick turned Channel Seven pundit, suggested to his former coach that Jofra Archer's fiery fourth-innings effort was "great theatre" but that the energy and intensity he saved for that burst was needed "every single spell".

McCullum accepted the premise of the observation before pointing out: "I used to have to have those conversations with you sometimes as well, Broady."

It is of course doubtful Bazball's architect would have needed to cajole Broad into pushing himself harder too often. The right-armer had already collected 537 wickets in 152 Tests when McCullum took the England job in 2022, and added a further 67 in 15 before his retirement at the end of the 2023 Ashes. Few England bowlers have shown more heart than Broad in Test history, nor been more durable.

Riddled by injury, Archer has been a different case, playing four Tests in almost five years leading into this tour. That England's most menacing bowler in this current series has not fully clocked the rhythms of cricket's toughest format as well as Broad should come as little surprise. 

The 30-year-old has occasionally terrorised Australia and has sustained speeds above 150kph in patches, but he has been down on pace and energy at other times. He cut a dispirited figure after giving his all but coming off second best in his heated duel with Steve Smith on Sunday. His three wickets for the series have come at 57.

"Particularly with Jofra, I think he has an ability to go up and down the gears and feels he has a bit more control with his bowling when he reduces his pace somewhat," McCullum continued in his interview on Seven.

"But then there's times where he's got to let fly, and that's always going to be the case.

"He would love to have more impact so far in the series than he's had. But I think he still has a huge role to play for us in the next while."

Pat Cummins, who looks certain to strengthen Australia's attack in Adelaide next week, has previously outlined how the game’s best bowlers know when to press and when to hold back. Verbal battles are often unnecessarily depleting on a bowler’s mental resources.

"You play so often now that you try and allocate your energy for bowling," Cummins said in conversation with fellow Test pace star Kagiso Rabada back in 2022. "You can get wound up really high, but it's pretty draining to be doing that every day."

Archer's struggles to strike that balance is emblematic of England's inconsistency with the ball through the first two Tests.

Not only had none of the three visiting frontline bowlers picked for Brisbane ever played a Test in Australia before this tour, the trio had little experience bowling together at all. Archer had never played a Test before with Atkinson, let alone shared the new ball with him. He had played two Tests alongside Carse, and only one with Wood (who is now injured after playing the series opener in Perth). Atkinson and Carse are marginally more acquainted with one another, playing four Tests together. 

That Australia’s bowling mainstays Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon have sent down just two overs between them this series shows familiarity and experience are not necessarily pre-requisites to success.

But the equilibrium of the home side's bowling attack, as well as their ability to match it to prevailing conditions (the latter a key factor in Lyon's omission in Brisbane), has so far been an advantage.

"I'm not a selector, but what I will say is … they looked at the game objectively and said, 'What was the best way for us to win this game with all the information we have on pink-ball cricket?" Marnus Labuschagne told reporters after the second Test.

Archer has played 13 Tests since his devastating 2019 Ashes assault on the Aussies. Mitchell Starc, whose tally of 18 wickets so far this series is double the next highest, has played more than three times as many (41 Tests) over the same period. Cummins has played 37.

The endurance of England's seamers, which came under question just two days into the series in Perth when all of them battled to match their explosive first-up outing 24 hours prior, now shapes as an overriding challenge as McCullum and Stokes' men attempt to get back into this series from 0-2 down.

England's leaders have demanded resilience. "You can't come to this country and start sulking and feeling sorry for yourself when things haven't worked out," said McCullum, while Stokes has insisted his dressing room "is not for weak men".

The questions Australia are asking of their bowling attack are more desirable. Michael Neser, fresh off a maiden Test five-for at the Gabba, and Brendan Doggett could make way in Adelaide if Cummins and Nathan Lyon make expected returns.

Then there is the prospect of Josh Hazlewood, on the mend from a hamstring injury, and Jhye Richardson, who took five wickets from 26 overs in Australia A's win over the England Lions, both becoming available later in this series too.

Neser was called out by Stokes as one of Australia's most challenging bowlers on a Gabba pitch that rewarded sustained precision. His Queensland teammate Labuschagne said they had taken pride in beating England with a recast attack.

"I was very excited for 'Ness' to get five in those conditions where it was flat… to see him take five with an old ball, three nick offs. It was awesome," he said.

"There was a moment earlier in the season where I was just like, 'Man, I hope he gets his chance'. Obviously a few injuries and I saw the writing on the wall there that there's a potential for him to be able to come in and deliver.

"The body of work he's put in in Shield cricket … and we didn't see the best of his batting either. He's got a lot to offer with the bat and his fielding.

"I take a lot of pride in these moments when you're able to win games without potentially two of your best bowlers.

"To be able to get these guys in and for them to be playing key roles in us winning games is really exciting."

2025-26 NRMA Insurance Men's Ashes

First Test: Australia won by eight wickets

Second Test: Australia won by eight wickets

Third Test: December 17-21: Adelaide Oval, 10:30am AEDT

Fourth Test: December 26-30: MCG, Melbourne, 10:30am AEDT

Fifth Test: January 4-8: SCG, Sydney, 10:30am AEDT

Australia squad (second Test only): Steve Smith (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Brendan Doggett, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, Mitchell Starc, Jake Weatherald, Beau Webster

England squad: Ben Stokes (c), Harry Brook (vc), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith (wk), Josh Tongue, Mark Wood