Long before Jofra Archer rattled Hashim Amla, he had warned batsmen of that on Twitter

England did everything they could to play Barbados-born Jofra Archer in the ICC World Cup 2019 and the pacer is ready to give it his all. The 24-year-old made his international debut just a few matches before but when he came out to play his first-ever game in the World Cup at the Oval, he made a fierce statement. Opening the bowling with Chris Woakes against South Africa, Archer took 3 for 27 in seven overs and although his superlative show was eclipsed by Ben Stokes’ all-round performance, one act of Archer did not go unnoticed.

It was in the fifth ball of the fourth over that Archer was bowling and South African veteran Hashim Amla, playing in his third World Cup. Amla had hit him for a boundary a few balls earlier and Archer came back strong, producing an express delivery clocking nearly 145 clicks and it hit him on the helmet. The batsman was attended by the team physio and walked back retired hurt.

He had returned to bat but the match had been far tougher by then with SA losing half their side. Archer’s pace and accuracy was the reasons for why the English team was desperate for his inclusion in the World Cup squad. However, it seems the bowler was confident about his strength long before he made a formal entry into cricket.

Archer’s warning from 2013

In 2013, Archer had posted a tweet warning the batsmen on his target list to buy two helmets since he was in no mood of charity.

All cricketers on my TL buy 2 helmets cuz I ain mekkin no sport dis year

— Jofra Archer (@JofraArcher) February 23, 2013

The England bowlers came up with a solid performance led by Archer to dismiss South Africa for only 207 runs after setting a target of 312. There were a couple of half centuries from the South African side with wicketkeeper-opener Quinton de Kock top scoring with 68. But the efforts did not prove to be enough for the team to turn the tables around.

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Stokes came up with a perfect all-round performance scoring 89 runs off 79 balls and two wickets and also two catches, one of which was simply out of this world. England will be looking to Archer and Stokes for more in their next games while SA will be eager to bounce back as early as they can.