Jofra Archer: England fast bowler's fiery spell to Glenn Phillips lights up The Oval on day one of second Test

Wednesday, 17 June 2026 20:52

Jofra Archer showed no signs of rust as he made his England Test return, the pacer producing a box-office, fiery eight-over spell of short-pitched bowling late on the first day of the second Test against New Zealand at The Oval.

The 31-year-old, playing in his first England Test since Adelaide in December - as his IPL commitments controversially kept him out of the series opener at Lord's - took 1-58 from his 19 overs after England inserted the opposition.

Archer had Tom Latham caught at gully off a leading edge in his second spell of the day, but it was his battle with Glenn Phillips late into the evening that really had people purring.

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Scorecard: England vs New Zealand, second Test, Oval
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Archer went wicketless across eight tireless, back-breaking overs of short-pitched pace bowling that deserved greater reward, with Phillips - who failed to score a run for 36 minutes - repeatedly put on his backside as he tried to duck and weave his way out of trouble.

"Brilliant cricket, this. Brilliant," Sky Sports' Nasser Hussain said at the time.

"It's up there with some of the great spells from fast bowlers here [at The Oval]: Devon Malcolm against South Africa in 1994, the West Indies' Michael Holding in 1976 against England."

Former New Zealand seamer Simon Doull was also left enthralled by the battle, one we might have been denied had the events of the past 10 days unfolded differently.

Given the impressive efforts of England's pace quartet from the first Test at Lord's - Ollie Robinson and Gus Atkinson taking five-wicket hauls in each innings, and Josh Tongue five in the match - Archer might have been sidelined once more but an injury to Robinson and well-documented suspensions for Atkinson and captain Ben Stokes for breaking curfew.

"This is why we want Archer playing Test cricket more often," he said at stumps, with New Zealand 291-7 heading into the second day, Phillips unbeaten on 49.

"This is the sort of situation Archer thrives in. He brings so much to the game and you could hear the crowd.

"The thing I loved too about Phillips was that he watched the ball very closely more often than not, even when it was whizzing past his grille.

"The couple of times he did take his eyes off it, he took a couple of blows in the back.

"Terrific stuff from both. Two really tough competitors going at it. It's what you want to see."

Baker: Debut wicket an 'awesome' feeling

Another to impress on the opening day at The Oval was Sonny Baker on Test debut, as the 23-year-old Hampshire quick took 2-63 in his 15 overs.

Baker claimed the key wicket of Rachin Ravindra (33) for his maiden wicket, before adding Daryl Mitchell (44) in the evening session.

"It was awesome, a great experience all round," Baker told Sky Sports. "I'm so happy to have got the first [wicket] - you could probably tell by my celebration!

"It was awesome, good graft today. I'm looking forward to coming back tomorrow and getting stuck in.

"First session, we bowled really well and could have had them more down. I think the match is somewhere in the balance."

On receiving his debut cap, Baker added: "I was trying to not get too emotional in front of the lads, to be honest. I was super happy, gave my mum and dad a hug."