How to face Jofra Archer? Ricky Ponting and Michael Atherton on facing fast bowling
Friday 23 August 2019 22:49, UK
Jofra Archer runs in to bowl; It's short, it's fast and, as a batsman, you've got all of four tenths of a second to decide how you're going to deal with it.
It's the toughest challenge in Test cricket - facing fast, aggressive bowling of 90mph plus - and so we enlisted the help of England and Australian batting greats, Michael Atherton and Ricky Ponting, to demonstrate just how to combat quick bowling as they joined Ian Ward in The Zone.
The trio look back on Archer's hostile spell to Steve Smith in the second Test that ultimately ruled him out of the third - suffering from a concussion - and discuss why batsmen getting hit is becoming more commonplace.
They also look at the world-wide fast-bowling renaissance of recent years, with the likes of Pat Cummins, Kagiso Rabada, Jasprit Bumrah - and many more - enjoying great success in the game.
Ponting suggests drills you can do to get used to short, fast bowling, while also recalling his personal battles against it and suggesting how he'd deal with the threat of Archer if he was still playing.
Watch Ponting and Atherton's facing fast-bowling demo in full at the top of the page!
