Warne flags Archer as the man to stop Smith

Australian great Shane Warne believes Jofra Archer could be the man to stop Steve Smith's Ashes run-spree, stating "no one likes to face tall 90 mph (145 km/h) bowlers".

World Cup-winner Archer is set to make his Test debut at Lord's next week after being included in England's squad for the second match of the Ashes series.

It comes after Smith made 144 and 142 in a 251-run win for the visitors in the opener at Edgbaston during a superb return to Test cricket following a 12-month absence from the team.

Archer missed the first game with a side injury but the 24-year-old quick is in line to replace the injured James Anderson, England's all-time leading wicket-taker, at Lord's after proving his fitness in a 2nd XI match for county side Sussex.

Warne believes Archer's extra pace, as well as the knowledge gained from playing alongside Smith for the Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League, will stand him in good stead if he is selected.

"Steve (Smith) has been the star of the show so far but now we have Jofra joining his Royals (and England) teammates Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler," Warne, a former Rajasthan player turned brand ambassador for the Twenty20 franchise team, said Friday after Archer was named in England's 12-man squad for Lord's.

Former leg-spinner Warne, the second-most successful bowler in Test history with 708 wickets, added: "Obviously I would love to see Steve go on and score a hundred in every single innings for the rest of the Ashes but with Jofra coming in I think he'll be set to face his biggest challenge yet and this could make the difference in the upcoming Tests.

"No one likes to face tall 90 mph bowlers."

"The loss of Anderson was such a blow for England and they will really need Jofra to step up, but I think he has all the attributes to do just that.

"They (Archer and Smith) will have faced each other a lot in the nets so if anyone will have a plan, it will be Jofra."

But Archer, speaking before England's group-stage match against Australia at Lord's during the World Cup, said of his time with Smith at Rajasthan: "To be honest, I didn't bowl at him much.

"A lot of the guys probably don't want to face me or (West Indies quick) Oshane Thomas in the nets."

"But when you play with them you pick up on things you won't normally notice when you're just playing against them," Archer added.

Archer made his international debut in May, before going on to be England's leading bowler during the World Cup with 20 wickets at 23.05.

2019 Qantas Ashes Tour of England

Australia squad: Tim Paine (c), Cameron Bancroft, Pat Cummins, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Michael Neser, James Pattinson, Peter Siddle, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner.

England squad: Joe Root (c), Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Joe Denly, Jack Leach, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes (vc), Chris Woakes.

First Test: Australia beat England by 251 runs at Edgbaston

Second Test: August 14-18,Lord's

Third Test: August 22-26, Headingley

Tour match: Australians v Derbyshire, August 29-31

Fourth Test: September 4-8, Old Trafford

Fifth Test: September 12-16, The Oval