England head coach Brendon McCullum is “hopeful” Jofra Archer will be available for the second Test against New Zealand as he reflected on Emilio Gay’s “super-impressive” display in the first Test after feeling the Durham batter was “spinning” ahead of his debut.
Fast-bowler Archer missed the 115-run rout of the Black Caps’ at Lord’s, with England leaving him out of their squad after feeling he was not yet ready for a red-ball return following a stint in the IPL – a situation Sky Sports’ Simon Doull branded “ludicrous”.
The 31-year-old has been training back in his native Barbados and could now come into contention for the fixture at The Kia Oval from Wednesday June 17, live on Sky Sports.
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England captain Ben Stokes had assessed the Archer situation ahead of the Lord’s Test, saying preventing him playing in the IPL could have made things ‘messy’
Asked about Archer’s progress, McCullum said: “We will probably drill down on that over the next couple of days.
“We are hopeful he will be available for the second Test. Then we will work out conditions-wise where we are at. He is following a plan and we completely trust Jof.
“He has shown in the past that he gets himself ready based on the plans we get together and come up with. He has always turned up in the condition we want from him.”
Archer may have enjoyed himself on a spicy, and heavily criticised, Lord’s pitch that saw 40 dismissals in 166 overs – a wicket fell every 24.9 balls in a bowler-dominated game.
From ‘spinning’ to ‘super impressive’ – McCullum assesses Gay debut
The highest score of the contest came from new England opener Gay, with the left-hander, who has replaced the dropped Zak Crawley, making 57 from 95 balls in the hosts’ second innings.
McCullum said of Gay: “I was super impressed. I felt like a week ago things were spinning a bit for Emilio – the initial step into the England set-up.
“Concerned is not the right word – it was more like, ‘right, you just have a little bit of work to do to calm him down a little bit so that he is ready to go’.
“But, over the course of that week, he really drilled down on his preparation, which is vital for him to feel he is able to go out and operate the way he wants to.
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Gay scored 57 from 95 balls in the second innings of his England debut, hitting eight boundaries
“He became calmer and calmer the closer he got to the start line. He slowly settled himself and realised he didn’t have to be anyone else.
“He is a pretty emotional guy and it is pretty hard to suppress those emotions and handle the extra stuff you have to when you come up to international cricket and do it straight away.
“I was a) incredibly impressed with how he played in difficult conditions – that fifty is worth a lot more than what it probably reads on the scorecard – but b) by the calm he operated with. It is rare to see that when you step up to this level.
“I am sure he has many more Test runs ahead of him. He will have grown immensely from the week’s work. He has moulded brilliantly into the group.”
I wouldn’t say Stokes is stubborn. I think he has conviction in what he believes and only trusts a certain amount of people, which is no bad thing in life. If you are able to make valid points he is very rational in being able to take those on board. We have a great relationship where we debate many things and always end up agreeing to a degree at the end of it.
Brendon McCullum on captain Ben Stokes
Stokes ‘not too far away’ from finding batting form
Captain Ben Stokes was dismissed for 12 and nought at Lord’s, having dropped from No 6 to No 7 in the batting order, and has only scored one Test century since the 2023 summer – but McCullum feels an upturn is on the way.
The New Zealander added: “Stokesy hasn’t got the runs he has wanted of late but I am confident in the work he has been doing. I feel he is moving a lot better.
“Sometimes when you don’t play a lot of cricket, and we are all guilty of it, you can, in the pursuit of improvement, become a bit rigid or robotic. That’s just what cricketers do.
“I feel that his fluency is starting to come back. It would have been great if he had got instant gratification with runs in this Test but I am confident we will see output in the Tests to come, some decent positives. You never know but I feel he is not too far away.
“No 7 is quite a nice role for him. With his experience and cricketing nous, he is able to guide the tail quite nicely. Plus he has the raw power if needs be to try and score if you are eight or nine wickets down. He still has the opportunity to bat with a batter as well.”
The temperature has been a little bit hot, as we all know, but that’s what comes with the territory. You are always looking to find ways to get your team to perform the best you think they are capable of and I was really impressed with the week. They guys have not carried any baggage and put their plans and preparation to work and executed when the pressure was at its highest. There was progress.
Brendon McCullum on England bouncing back from Ashes defeat
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Highlights from day four of the first Test at Lord’s as England rolled New Zealand for 138 to secure a 115-run win in their first match since the Ashes humbling
Watch day one of the second Test between England and New Zealand, at The Kia Oval, live on Sky Sports Cricket and Sky Sports Main Event from 10am on Wednesday June 17 (11am first ball). Stream cricket and more with NOW – no contract.
England vs New Zealand – results and schedule
All times UK and Ireland, all games live on Sky Sports
First Test (Lord’s) – England won by 115 runsSecond Test (The Kia Oval) – June 17-21 (11am) Third Test (Trent Bridge) – June 25-29 (11am)
