Archer's paradox - as Ashes heat builds, Jofra must lead from the front

"If he takes it off, he might be able to bowl quicker. We all know you've got a bit of money, mate - take it off, will ya?"

It did not take long for the chains to get a mention. They always do when things do not go Jofra Archer's way. Reflective of ego, apparently, rather than a life-long preference. Lazy conflations amid the critiques of England's overall malaise over the last month in Australia.

Perhaps it was inevitable, really, given the amount of time between the second and third Ashes Tests. Archer's back-and-forth with Steven Smith in the final stanza of the Gabba Test provided a neat snapshot of the two sides; England have done most of the talking while Australia, 2-0 to the good, all of the winning. And Archer, for all the build-up, has just three wickets at an average of 57.00, and now a target on his back to show for it.

Ryan Harris' comments were the latest soundbite from former cricketers to lay into Archer. Ricky Ponting, who was on air at the time during Archer's confrontation with Smith, reiterated the Australia skipper's on-field "champing" about ramping it up when there was little on the line, the target to win just 65.

Ponting has since doubled down, saying Archer "embarrassed himself, and he embarrassed his team". Strong, no doubt, given Archer was clearly evoking Roy Keane's famous utterance about "smashing into someone, just to make me feel something" during a lost cause. But the first die had been cast, and Ponting, a few days on, was always going to roll another six.

Everything since that exchange has been a mix of talking heads lining up to have their go. Harris' comments are an example of needing to stand out from an ever-growing crowd. If there is one silver lining for Archer, the number of decorated former Baggy Green-wearers like Harris having a pop at him suggests he is at least someone to fear. The hollowest of moral victories, if you will.

There has been a lot of bluster and naivety - some genuine, others questionable. The accusation that he only turned up on the final day is an odd one given he bowled the most overs on day two (20 of the 73 to start Australia's first innings). This after providing a vital 38 from No. 11 that allowed England to post 334 - in the process outscoring five of the top seven to shine a light on the batting card. Amid England's collective passivity when the game was on the line, Archer acted as a lightning rod for criticism. Still, his unbeaten 5 in the second dig now gives Archer a better series average (24.00) from four knocks than as many team-mates with Test centuries (Ben Stokes, Ben Duckett, Jamie Smith and Gus Atkinson).

Archer's pace has fluctuated and there is a sense that, underpinning the jibes in Australia, plenty would love more of the fire he brought to the embers of the last match. For all the hate he is receiving, this a country that loves what he brings to the game. Amid the derision not even halfway through his first tour of Australia, he would do well to remember how much they adored him during his two Big Bash League seasons with Hobart Hurricanes in 2017-18 and 2018-19. Official BBL accounts still regularly post his highlight reels as much for admiration as clicks.

His fielding also left a lot to be desired, botching a catching chance at mid-on from Mitchell Starc off Brydon Carse and frustrating Stokes with a lack of foresight in the field. Criticism for carrying a pillow into the Gabba on day three might be one of the most overblown complaints of the tour, but his lethargy when his captain was looking to cut off singles on the off side deep into Australia's first innings was more deserving of that kind of ire. Similar instances would have irritated Archer had they been off his bowling.

And Smith's fine pull for six when the angst between the two combatants was at its greatest was undoubtedly a blow to Archer's ego. It further highlighted the one-sided nature of their Test battles. Even counting the blow Archer landed on Smith at Lord's in 2019, he is still yet to dismiss the Australian after 220 deliveries. No one has sent down more in vain.

In a series where the public enemy from England changes week to week, Archer is serving his time. An overseas Ashes really is different, and he is finding that out the hard way.

Despite suggestions to the contrary, the 30-year-old has been playing regularly for England since the summer of 2024, with 39 caps, including two major tournaments (last year's T20 World Cup, this year's Champions Trophy) and appearances in Test series against India and Australia in the last five months. As a result, his central contract was extended by a year, through to the end of the 2027 summer, which incorporates another two global tournaments and a home Ashes. He is a vital cog in England's present and future.

Nevertheless, we are at a fascinating juncture in Archer's Test career, in part because of the contrasts and contradictions he is now operating within.

As England head to Adelaide, Archer is their most experienced specialist bowler, with just 17 Test caps, following the loss of Mark Wood. That also makes him comfortably their fastest quick, while also being their most economical so far. As that final spell showed (even if it was too late), despite only a single wicket in his 30 overs of the second Test - with two straightforward catches dropped off his bowling - he has the capacity to influence matches on a whim.

The biggest shift, however, is still playing out. The resources dedicated to getting Archer back to his best were primarily to add an X-factor quality to the bowling group. Now, he must emerge as a banker in the most important series of this iteration of the Test side. By proxy, it will likely be the most important of his own career.

Gus Atkinson is struggling for pace and incisiveness, and could well make way for Josh Tongue for the must-win third Test, which begins on Wednesday. It means Archer must take the reins of a seemingly listless attack at a time when he is still getting reacquainted with the physical and mental rigours of Test cricket.

Having returned to the format this summer, the Gabba was only his fifth first-class match of the year. He had not played multi-day cricket since 2021, and the last time he has played as many games in a calendar year was 2019. Should he appear in two of the three remaining matches in this series, he will finally tick over to 50 first-class appearances since making his debut for Sussex in 2016.

It is a pending milestone that highlights Archer's harrowing injury record of lower back and elbow issues that would have pushed others to narrow their focus and commitments across the game. His franchise options are such that he does not need the stresses and strains of the longest format to end up satisfied when he hangs up his boots. But most important of all, despite constant doubts put upon him by others, Test cricket is where he wants to be.

This, really, is as tough as Test cricket gets. And it is not so much about getting through to the other side of these challenges but how he responds to them that keeps Archer going. He backs himself, and so he should.

It also helps that Stokes is one of his biggest advocates. Throughout Archer's rehabilitation from injury that kept him out of meaningful action until 2024, Stokes constantly checked in on the man who was just as integral to England's 2019 ODI World Cup win.

During the Brisbane Test, it was noticeable that Stokes lost his temper with Archer for being on his heels in the field. It was reminiscent of Lord's earlier this summer, when, during Archer's comeback Test against India, Stokes refused the bowler a field change and the pair exchanged words. Both instances saw them make up in good time, but it does highlight a different approach with Archer. The mantra under Stokes has been to give it your all in the field and let him handle the tactics so bowlers can just bowl. Archer challenges that somewhat, which is not entirely a bad thing. While his fielding efforts must step up, too many of this squad cede too much of their decision-making to Stokes. Judging by Stokes' downbeat disposition at the end of the second Test, he needs less on his plate.

That being said, Stokes knows how to push Archer's buttons. Ahead of England's most impressive bowling performance in Australia's first innings in Perth, Stokes went around each of his bowlers telling them the role they would play in the ten overs through to tea. To Archer, he simply said: "Just run in, time and again."

So he did, knocking Jake Weatherald off his feet second ball, on his way to an opening burst of 1 for 5 from three overs, featuring two maidens. Archer went on to return figures of 2 for 11 from nine overs as England snuffed out Australia for a first-innings lead of 40 that they failed to cash in on.

That well-versed locals - including some of those currently gunning for Archer - described that collective display as one of the best from a visiting attack since the great West Indies sides was no coincidence. Archer's roots drew the comparison closer, but it was the Barbados-born quick's tone-setting that inspired his fellow seamers.

Now he must lead from the front once more. The motivation will be to stick it to the haters, but that must be fuel for a broader counter-reaction. England's slim Ashes hopes depend on it.