Jofra Archer should forget the outside noise: Michael Holding

West Indies fast bowler Michael Holding believes that Jofra Archer has the potential to become a pace legend and he should ignore the ‘outside noise’ and focus on his game. Archer has proved his mettle as a bowler for the England cricket team since his debut in 2019. The speedster has represented England in 8 Tests and 14 One Day Internationals till now taking 33 and 23 scalps respectively.

Jofra has been included in England’s 14-member squad for the third and final ongoing Test match against West Indies. He also played for England in the first Test match at Southampton but had to miss the second Test due to the breach in rules.

“To be honest, I don’t think it should be that difficult. The environment in which he is, he’s in a team that has just won the last Test match. He’s amongst friends in the England team; he has Ben Stokes, who he is very close to, who is a personable person and also a positive person. So he should just make sure that he gets involved with the team, forgets about all the outside noise and just does what he can do. He is potentially a great bowler so he should just concentrate on that,” Holding said on Sky Sports.

Michael Holding showers praise on Jofra Archer

Archer had to face racial abuse on social media after missing out on the second Test at Old Trafford for breaching the biosecure protocol. The England vs West Indies Test series is being played in a biosecure bubble without the spectators owing to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

A spokesperson from the England board had said that Archer had breached the code of conduct while traveling between the Ageas Bowl and Emirates Old Trafford as he made a stop at his flat in Brighton. However, the 25-year-old had later realized his mistake and had apologized for the same.

“It’s not easy. When people are starting to abuse you because of your ethnicity, the color of your skin, your religion, or anything that is physical about you – even if people try to bully you because you are overweight, it’s not easy to get over. But it’s all a matter of concentrating on what your job is. Social media is difficult to deal with. That’s why I’ve never had any sort of account. If you are going to be dealing with things like that you’ve got to be mentally strong,” Holding said.

The 66-year-old added that Archer is a very good bowler and he should just concentrate on his game. Michael further said that the England team needs to be supportive of Archer and should stick with each other as that would help the Barbados-born speedster in forgetting about the abuse he is being subjected to on social media.