Waugh labels Archer a talent like no other

Having batted in the era populated by some of the most feared fast bowlers the game has known, former Australia captain Steve Waugh is well placed to pass early judgement on England's new Test spearhead Jofra Archer.

And from what Waugh observed, perched on the players' balcony at Lord's in his role as mentor to the current Australia men's Test team, he admits that Archer offers a different challenge to most other quicks of the present day and recent past.

Waugh cited the 24-year-old Barbadian-born speedster's uncomplicated bowling action which allows him to maintain laser-like accuracy and to complete lengthy spells, as well as the speed he generates from such a seemingly easy approach as reasons for his effectiveness.

Archer proved a decisive factor in England's changed fortunes in the second Ashes Test, where they had the better of a rain-affected draw after suffering a hefty 251-run defeat in the series opener at Edgbaston a fortnight earlier.

In his first Test series against the then-mighty West Indies in 1988, Waugh found himself facing Malcolm Marshall, Patrick Patterson, Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh.

He also locked horns with South Africa's Allan Donald, England's Devon Malcolm and Pakistan pair Wasim Akram and Shoaib Akhtar.

But while Waugh found some similarities between Archer and Australia's most successful Test quick Glenn McGrath - largely due to the purity of their respective, albeit different - bowling actions, he found little else in England's strike bowler to compare with other new-ball weapons he's seen.

"I can't say I've ever seen anyone bowl quite like that," Waugh told The Unplayable Podcast after the second Test when asked how he assessed Archer's highly anticipated Test debut.

"He sort of ambles in and gets very close to the (stumps), makes the most of his height, and he's got a simple action.

"In a lot of ways, not a similar action to Glenn McGrath, but very repeatable.

"I can't see too much going wrong with it and his control was very good for that reason, because he just bowls in a direct line and he's close to the stumps.

"He's very upright, makes use of his height, he's got that deceptive pace and, as we know, a pretty wicked bouncer.

"That's something our team has got to analyse and work out how to play that because it was pretty effective in this (Lord's) Test match.

"He is a very impressive bowler, for sure."

Throughout Waugh's tenure as Test skipper, which yielded a success rate of 71.93 per cent that remains unsurpassed by any men's captain to lead in more than 10 matches, he could bank on the game-changing talents of record-breaking leg-spinner, Shane Warne.

However, Waugh was also blessed with a couple of genuinely fast bowlers – Jason Gillespie and then Brett Lee – to complement McGrath, and to whom he could turn if seam and spin weren't able to create problems for opposition batters.

Image Id: E58B97D5EEB84C21BFE21E9E001B3507 Image Caption: Waugh with fast bowlers Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie in 2000 // Getty

It was Archer's capacity to find something in the Lord's pitch that others could not, and do it with the worn ball after it had lost its sheen and hardness that helped propel England to a position of final-day dominance after so much of the Lord's Test was lost to rain.

And as Waugh noted, the threat posed by the debutant whenever he had the ball in his hand, coupled with his remarkable economy rate of barely two runs per over across the 44 he sent down, makes for the sort of strike power every captain wants to be able to call upon.

"It gives you that x-factor," Waugh said.

"As a captain, you really want that bowler in your line up when you know you can intimidate the opposition, you can make things happen when it's a seemingly flat pitch and potentially get wickets in clumps.

Image Id: 9732C23507BA4D08A03837F8DCFF1886 Image Caption: Archer celebrates the wicket of David Warner in the second Test // Getty

"He's a real asset to England."

Waugh also said he was interested to see how the young bowler, who sustained a side strain during England's successful World Cup campaign but had no trouble completing spells of up to eight overs in his maiden Test, coped with the workload of five-day cricket.

The remaining three Ashes Tests at Headingley, Old Trafford and The Oval will be crammed into just 26 days, and given Archer's most recent first-class fixture prior to the Lord's Test was in September last year, Waugh believes his stamina and resilience will be challenged.

"If he plays four Test matches in a row, that will test him out," said the ex-skipper, whose tenure as team mentor concluded after Lord's but who may yet return to the role later in the series.

"So far he's come through with flying colours.

"(He bowled) forty (four) overs and each over was probably as quick as the previous one.

"It was a very impressive debut, but I know Test cricket.

"It's about longevity and how you back up and how you handle different conditions.

"From England's point of view, so far so good."

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: Match drawn at 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