Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer were ‘absolutely brilliant’ in 3rd Test at Lord’s vs India, says former cricketer

Mayank Bande

Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer were ‘absolutely brilliant’ in 3rd Test at Lord’s vs India, says former cricketer image

England captain Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer were central figures in their 22-run win over India in a nail-biting third Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy.

Returning to Test cricket after a long injury layoff, Archer delivered an inspiring performance with the ball to help the hosts take a 2-1 lead in the series.

On the other hand, Stokes led from the front with a massive effort, bowling a couple of long spells on Day 5.

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As England successfully defended a modest 193-run target at Lord's, Michael Clarke praised the contributions of the England captain and Archer after the match.

Here's what he had to say.

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Michael Clarke lauds Stokes-Archer duo for Lord's heroics

While reviewing the third Test between India and England at the Lord's on his YouTube channel Beyond23 Cricket Podcast, Clarke praised the way Stokes used himself in the final innings of the chase.

The England captain relentlessly kept attacking the Indian batting with a couple of extended spells of 9-10 overs on the final day.

Out of 74.5 overs that England bowled in the final innings, the all-rounder held on to an end for 24, eight more than both Jofra Archer and Brydon Carse.

He also kept his economy rate in check, conceding at just 2 runs per over, keeping things tight and preventing India from running away with the match.

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"Ben Stokes, the way he bowled, and Jofra Archer were absolutely brilliant. I think the way Stokes used himself — I was in London and I was listening to the commentary and there was a bit of talk around whether he is over-bowling himself, and I could understand why," said the former Australia captain.

"He was bowling beautifully; he had good rhythm and I reckon that's as quick and as consistent as I have seen Stokes bowl for a long time. I think he made a lot of the right decisions, captaincy-wise and keeping himself on for such a long period of time was, I thought was a right call," Clarke added.

He went on to heap praise on Jofra Archer for the way he returned to England's Test side and made an immediate impact.

Making his Test comeback after a four-year gap due to multiple stress fracture injuries to his elbow and back, Archer contributed with 2/52 and 3/55 in the two innings, respectively.

He was able to dismiss in-form Yashasvi Jaiswal cheaply in both innings and clocked 90mph speed consistently.

His second innings spell proved instrumental in defending 193 runs, as he knocked over Rishabh Pant's off-stump and took a single-handed return catch to dismiss Washington Sundar.

"The way he utilized Jofra Archer from the other end was absolutely brilliant. He just makes that team a different team," he concluded.

Both teams will travel to Manchester for the fourth Test of the series at Old Trafford, scheduled from July 23 to 27.

England will have a chance to seal the series with a third win, while India will look to bounce back to level the series 2-2.

Mayank Bande

Mayank Bande has been a content producer at The Sporting News since 2023 and has extensive experience in cricket writing. His work has previously appeared on platforms like OneCricket and Last Word on Sports. Beyond cricket, Mayank closely follows football as an FC Barcelona supporter, along with tennis and Olympic sports. Despite holding a degree in Business Administration, he chose to pursue a career in sports, bringing sharp analysis to his writing as someone who once played cricket.