15-07-2025
Lord's Test: How Ganguly's iconic shirt-waving act inspired Jofra Archer's heroic spell
England's fast bowler Jofra Archer delivered a match-winning performance in the Lord's Test against India, drawing inspiration from one of cricket's most unforgettable moments - Sourav Ganguly's iconic shirt-waving celebration at the 2002 NatWest Trophy connection might seem unlikely at first glance, but England captain Ben Stokes revealed how Archer drew on that historic image of Ganguly defiantly waving his shirt on the balcony of Lord's as motivation to spark England's victory over India in the third fiery spell included a peach of a delivery to dismiss the dangerous Rishabh Pant, followed by a crucial return catch to dismiss Washington Sundar. These breakthroughs proved decisive as India fell short by 22 runs despite their resilient fightback.
"I just said to him this morning, 'You know what today is, don't you?'" Stokes said after England's energy-sapping victory. "'You know that highlight package of India knocking off 300-odd back in the day with Ganguly?' He thought that was the World Cup final. He thought that was six years today."Interestingly, England's win at Lord's coincided with the anniversary of their 2019 World Cup final victory — a match that ended in controversial circumstances. However, when Stokes reminded Archer about that landmark day six years ago, Archer instead recalled Ganguly's iconic moment from 17 years vs IND, 3rd Test: Match Report"I was like, no that World Cup that we won? He was like, 'Oh, that one.' He's an absolute beauty, that boy," said Stokes. "I just had the feeling today and that Rishabh Pant wicket was massive in a low run chase."Stokes admitted that the memory of England's 2019 World Cup win on this day influenced the team's selection and confidence. "We knew that turning up this morning was genuinely the reason why we went with me and Jof (Archer). It felt right in my tummy that Jof was going to do something this morning to break the game open.""Gut feel doesn't always work but those two wickets he got this morning obviously swung the game massively in our favour," he special bond between Stokes and Archer was evident on the field during the morning session. "So he wanted me to come to mid-on and (Brydon) Carsey to go to leg slip so he could talk to me. But I didn't trust Carsey at leg slip, to be honest," Stokes said with a was rewarded with the player of the match award for leading England's fightback. Despite recently returning from injury, he bowled a heavy workload - 9.2 overs in the first innings and 10 overs in the second - maintaining relentless pressure on the Indian ahead, Stokes said he would be ready for the fourth Test starting in Manchester on 23 July. "Oh, yeah. I'll be absolutely sound for Manchester. It's a big break. Obviously, I was pretty tired after Headingley. But, yeah, after we walked off the field there, sort of a whole new level of tiredness hit."He reflected on the physical and mental demands of captaining and bowling in a tense fourth innings chase. "I've been in games like that before, not as a captain, where I've been given the ball to run in and try to bowl the team to victory. But then now, adding on the decision making around bowling changes, field placings, how I feel we're going to get this win. Obviously, there's a physical element of bowling in the fourth innings, but then it shouldn't be underestimated how the emotional and mental tiredness does also get you as well."- EndsYou May Also Like
