Matthew Hayden has criticised Jofra Archer after the England star bowler was seen arriving at The Gabba on day three of England’s eight-wicket defeat by Australia with a pillow under his arm.
Ben Stokes’ side have been blasted by multiple former players, including the likes of Geoffrey Boycott and Ian Botham, after the tourists fell to a 2-0 deficit in the Ashes series.
England were already under pressure coming into this series after they were thumped by Australia in Perth in just two days, and had faced large backlash after their bowlers had struggled to take wickets on day two, while their fielders dropped five catches.
The tourists arrived on day three, still needing to take four Aussie wickets before they could bat again.
Archer was seen walking around the pitch at The Gabba with a pillow, with Hayden blasting the pace bowler.
‘I’m sorry but that’s a shocking look,’ Hayden said to Channel 7.
He then said it would only inspire the Aussie batters to ‘dig in’.
‘If I was a batsman I tell you what I’d be doing. I would be digging in forever.
‘It would be exactly what you need as a batsman I can tell you.
‘You’d be looking over at that and going, ‘you are never going to sleep with that. Not any part of this day are you going to see that … not even in the night’.’
Aussie great Simon Katich concurred.
‘I reckon if Haydos was facing Jofra Archer he would have been greeted with, ‘night-time is for sleeping champ, you’re not going to get a chance today’,’ Katich said.
‘I agree, I don’t think it’s a great look, bringing a pillow to a Test. He had plenty of chances to sleep last night. This will be a big challenge for him. His durability was questioned before the series. The 15 Tests in six years.’
After scoring his highest-ever run tally (38) in Test cricket alongside Joe Root during the first innings, Archer returned figures of 1-87 as Australia took to the crease.
Questions were asked on Sunday about why Archer came out to bowl much faster during Australia’s second innings than he had done previously.
It came as he and Steve Smith shared some frosty words right at the end of the match.
Smith had swiped Archer for four, prompting the England star to say: ‘You only play those shots when there’s not much on the score, mate.’
The stand-in Aussie skipper bit back immediately: ‘You only bowl fast when there’s nothing going on, champ,’ Smith said, returning fire.’
Stokes, has, meanwhile, sent a warning to any soft players in his touring party after playing a defiant hand in England’s eight-wicket loss at the Gabba.
Stokes and allrounder Jacks have shown there is another way to bat after the slowest 50-run partnership in the Bazball era held up Australia on the fourth day.
The pair brought up their half-century stand for the seventh wicket at a run rate of 2.45 per over, making it the slowest of the 164 stands of 50 or more since coach Brendon McCullum took over.
It was both attritional and brave cricket and with England now trailing 2-0 in the Ashes series it must provide food for thought ahead of the third Test in Adelaide about a new way forward other than self-destructive Bazball.
England took the lead before tea on the fourth day and had extended it beyond 40 in the second session before Stokes (50) and Jacks (41) were prised out by superb line bowling by Michael Neser, and a brilliant one-handed slip catch by Steve Smith to dismiss Jacks.
Their partnership of 96 off 220 deliveries was easily the longest played by any England pair this series. It was also the smartest.
‘I said last night that I wanted us to take the scoreboard out of the equation and all I wanted us to focus on was just to fight,’ Stokes said.
‘Nothing is guaranteed in life or sport but so long as you walk out there and think in your head, ‘I am going to fight all the way to the end’.
‘What you saw from me and Will Jacks was on the back of me saying that everybody has got to show fight.’
Stokes said England were not absorbing the pressure put on them by Australia and warned it was ‘a tough place to come’. He also put his teammates on notice about what he expects in Adelaide in the third Test.
‘Teams that come to Australia can’t be soft or weak. There is no room for that in any dressing room I’m in charge of,’ he said.
‘We pick people on ability and skill and we also pick people on character and mentality. There are a few things that need to be addressed on that.’
A suite of extravagant shots the previous evening had England teetering at 6-128.
Former England captain Michael Vaughan was one of several pundits scathing of the reckless approach but he was full of praise after watching the manner in which Stokes and Jacks went about their work.
‘Loving this approach from England. Fantastic session of play,’ Vaughan posted on X after England got through the opening two hours of the fourth day without loss.
Stokes and Jacks defended the good deliveries and put the bad ones away. They did not take unnecessary risks or try to clobber good length balls outside off stump as their teammates had late on day three under lights.
The occasional delivery kept low and the odd one bounced more than expected, with Stokes getting the splice of the bat to a Scott Boland lifter that skewed over the slips for four.
Stokes was defiant and took a nasty blow in the groin area as he defended his wicket at all costs.
It was traditional cricket played to suit Australian conditions.
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