In the end, it took an act of God to stop Jofra Archer. A thick bank of black cloud blew over the Grand Stand at a quarter-past-seven, and in the twilight of Sunday night, the umpires rightly decided that it was all of a sudden so dark that the Australian batsmen couldn’t safely face him anymore, if they ever could safely face him at all. Archer had already hit Marnus Labuschagne, Tim Paine and Matthew Wade earlier in the day, and that was in bright sunlight. So Archer slapped on his hat, and turned his back from the crease, then strolled off to field at mid-on, despondent. Force majeure. Who knew there was a superior force out there?
Archer bowled 44 overs in this match, and by the time they were over he’d proven himself to be the most lethal fast bowler in the world. On Sunday he cracked open the Australian second innings, had David Warner caught at slip, Usman Khawaja caught behind, and, later in the day, removed Paine too. But it wasn’t just the wickets. Archer has hit 19 batsmen in the body and head in the short time he’s been playing international cricket. Right now he’s averaging a strike every 10 overs or so. His bowling’s not just a test for Australia’s batsman, but for the way the game handles these blows, too.
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Players, fans, and pundits are conditioned to think the admirable thing to do after being hit on the head is carry on
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