Angus Fraser says he is concerned by the way Jofra Archer is being utilised in an “enforcer” role by England.

Archer enjoyed a memorable summer as he starred in England’s World Cup win, before impressing in the Ashes against Australia.

However, he toiled in his first overseas Test with figures of 1-107 off 42 overs as England were beaten by New Zealand in the first Test.

• Hussain: Don’t write off Root as captain

Archer bowled a number of bouncers during the match but did not trouble the New Zealand batsmen too much.

Middlesex director of cricket Fraser, who took 177 wickets in 46 Tests for England, told Sky Sports: “The way Jofra Archer is being used at times concerns me a little bit because at the moment he seems just to be used as the enforcer, someone to come on and bowl short to try and rough up the opposition, and he’s better than that.

“He’s a wonderful cricketer, wonderful bowler, and [they should] maybe use him to get wickets in a more authentic way than just two men out on the hook and a short leg and that sort of stuff. So there’s some work to be done [by England] there.”

England’s first-Test loss to New Zealand has again seen the spotlight fall on Joe Root’s captaincy.

Fraser accepts the Yorkshireman, who scored two and 11 in the match, is under pressure, but suggests replacing him is not necessarily guaranteed to solve England’s troubles.

New Zealand vs England

November 28, 2019, 9:30pm

Live on

“I suppose when you look at that [calls to replace Root as captain] you say, ‘Who else is there?’, and that’s not the reason to keep someone on, but be careful what you wish for to some extent.

“Joe’s under a bit of pressure, and you can’t hide that fact. England’s results in Test cricket have not been great and again you look at some of the decisions, could he have done other things?

Source: Read Full Article