Jofra Archer Takes Six as South Africa Near World Cup Qualifiers

Jofra Archer returned to his best and took six wickets as he ripped through the Proteas’ batting lineup in the 3rd ODI. England had already lost the series and was on a 5-game losing streak, so winning this match was more about pride, and Archer stood out for them with the ball. 

Earlier, England was restricted to 20/3 after 10 overs. You don’t associate that with the English team’s post-2015 era.

But anyway, their fearless brand of cricket allowed them to put a total of 346 on the board. It was due to a mammoth effort by Malan and Buttler, who made 118 and 131, respectively.

In the second innings, it was all about Jofra Archer. Returning to international cricket after a year, people were wondering when the Barbados-born quick would hit his peak again. 

Evidently, they didn’t have to wait long, as Jofra Archer took six wickets to stop the South African chase in just his second game post-comeback. 

He started by getting the No. 2 ranked ODI batter, VD Dussen, out. Later on, he would get wickets at regular intervals, including those of Markram, Miller, Klaasen, Parnell, and Shamsi.

South Africa’s Direct World Cup Qualification is at the Edge

This loss means that South Africa’s chances of achieving direct World Cup qualification are further reduced. They currently stand in 9th position with 79 points and have two more ODIs to play against the Netherlands.

The 8th spot, as of now, is taken by the West Indies with 88 points. However, they have completed their quota of matches.

However, Sri Lanka is at 77 points with three matches left against New Zealand. If they win all three, they will qualify directly for the World Cup even if South Africa wins its remaining two games. 

The maximum number of points the Proteas can get now is 99. In the event that Sri Lanka clean-sweeps New Zealand, they will end up with 107, qualifying ahead of South Africa. It’s evident that two teams out of South Africa, Sri Lanka, and the West Indies will play in the qualifiers.

There are many possibilities, and you never know what can happen on a given day. Who knew the Netherlands would knock South Africa out of the WT20 2022?

At the moment, the world is in awe of Jofra Archer, who has taken six wickets against top opposition after recovering from a long injury. 

But the good news is that he is back and looks better than ever!