M
SM
Monday, March 11

England

David Willey knows he needs to perform as Jofra Archer enters the equation

The left-armer has found himself out of England's 50-over side.

David Willey is hoping to tame a short boundary in St Kitts and lock down his World Cup place but accepts England face an "interesting dilemma" over Jofra Archer.

Willey's left-arm swing has been a regular part of England's limited-overs set-up over the past four years, playing 67 of his country's 114 white-ball matches since the last tournament.

Ordinarily he would be inked in to make the 15-man cut but the imminent availability of Barbados-born Archer represents a challenge to the established pecking order, with the likes of Willey and Tom Curran potentially vulnerable.

In any circumstances bowling on the modestly proportioned Warner Park in Basseterre – known as the smallest ground in the Caribbean, with one particularly inviting 63-metre straight boundary and another just two metres longer – could be daunting.

Sussex's Jofra Archer, centre, could make England's World Cup squad (Mark Kerton/PA)

Doing so in Twenty20s on Friday and Sunday, against a West Indies side led by the big-hitting Chris Gayle, appears positively perilous.

"They are all short boundaries, aren't they? It's going to be a challenge," Willey said on the eve of the second T20 of the series.

"The breeze probably knocks a good 10-20 metres off one side as well. As a bowler, you have to be smart and try to get them to hit to the long side, if there is one, or at least into the wind.

"It could come down to who bowls as smartly as they can."

Regardless of what transpires over the next two games, Archer's name will continue to be dropped liberally.

“It's a group of players that have been together for three or four years now, that have got us to number one and there's a reason for that”
- David Willey

He has never been far from the conversation in recent weeks and head coach Trevor Bayliss has assured him of a chance to audition ahead of the World Cup.

"It's an interesting dilemma for the captain, coaches, selectors," said Willey.

"I imagine every bowler sat in that dressing room will be trying to make sure it's not them that gets left out should that happen.

"It's a group of players that have been together for three or four years now, that have got us to number one and there's a reason for that.

"Whether someone should just walk in at the drop of a hat because they're available, whether that's the right thing I don't know.

"I don't know Jofra particularly well. I couldn't tell you if he's got a particularly good record in white-ball cricket to be honest.

"But you have to accept these things and there's one way to make sure it's not you – by performing out in the middle."

After an impressive run of form last summer Willey has had a frustrating few months, unavailable to tour Sri Lanka with a back injury, forced to cut short his Perth Scorchers deal due to a shoulder problem and then overlooked for all five one-day internationals against the Windies.

David Willey has proved a key member of England's limited-overs squad in recent years (Mark Kerton/PA)

Yet he remains England's likeliest source of swing with the new ball and a source of inherent variation.

"Hopefully, I'm the first left-armer on the team-sheet should there be one," he said.

"I think that ability to swing the ball up front is why I'm here and the reason why I've played as much white-ball cricket around the world.

"The more you can get the ball just going through to the keeper and avoid getting hit into the advertising hoardings the better."



amp_article_352642 : Collect and Make Data not in DataBase  : 
last updated article - 2019-03-07 19:31:32:
html db last update - 2019-03-11 19:07:36 :

ex - 7200 : read : write cache and make html

Click here for more stories about David Willey

Click here for more stories about England

Share this article now:

Subscribe to our Newsletter


Transfer Talk Daily
Match previews - twice weekly
Morning Briefing (7am UTC)
UC
Get the latest transfer news, match previews and news direct to your inbox!
Recommended Next on SM
Chris Jordan: Archer's 'like my little brother', but I want World Cup place too
Real Madrid confirm Zinedine Zidane return
Report: Asensio wants Man United move
Bayliss believes threat of Archer has inspired his bowlers to up their game

Loading ...

Failed to load data.

Loading ...

Failed to load data.

Select and display your favourite team's news and scores in this panel
Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Manchester CityMan City30242479215874
2Liverpool30227168175173
3Tottenham HotspurSpurs30201957322561
4Arsenal30186663392460
5Manchester UnitedMan Utd30177658401858
6Chelsea29176650311957
7Wolverhampton WanderersWolves30128103836244
8Watford30127114244-243
9West Ham UnitedWest Ham30116133743-639
10Leicester CityLeicester30115143842-438
11Everton30107134142-137
12Bournemouth30114154154-1337
13Newcastle UnitedNewcastle3097142938-934
14Crystal Palace3096153641-533
15Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton2996143242-1033
16Southampton3079143450-1630
17Burnley3086163457-2330
18Cardiff CityCardiff3084182757-3028
19Fulham3045212868-4017
20Huddersfield TownHuddersfield3035221553-3814
Scroll for more - Tap for full version

Subscribe to our Newsletter


Transfer Talk Daily
Match previews - twice weekly
Morning Briefing (7am UTC)
UC
Get the latest transfer news, match previews and news direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.

Loading ...

Failed to load data.

Loading ...

Failed to load data.

Select and display your favourite team's news and scores in this panel
Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Manchester CityMan City30242479215874
2Liverpool30227168175173
3Tottenham HotspurSpurs30201957322561
4Arsenal30186663392460
5Manchester UnitedMan Utd30177658401858
6Chelsea29176650311957
7Wolverhampton WanderersWolves30128103836244
8Watford30127114244-243
9West Ham UnitedWest Ham30116133743-639
10Leicester CityLeicester30115143842-438
11Everton30107134142-137
12Bournemouth30114154154-1337
13Newcastle UnitedNewcastle3097142938-934
14Crystal Palace3096153641-533
15Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton2996143242-1033
16Southampton3079143450-1630
17Burnley3086163457-2330
18Cardiff CityCardiff3084182757-3028
19Fulham3045212868-4017
20Huddersfield TownHuddersfield3035221553-3814
Scroll for more - Tap for full version
X

We value your privacy

A part of our GDPR compliance we need to ask for your consent. We and our partners use technology such as cookies on Sports Mole to personalise content and ads, provide social media features, and analyse our traffic. Click below to consent to the use of this technology on Sports Mole.