Jofra Archer has been criticized by former Australia opener Matthew Hayden for the “shocking look” of arriving on the third day of the second Ashes Test with a pillow.
With England needing four wickets to conclude Australia’s first innings and keep their Ashes hopes alive, fast bowler Archer was seen before playing at the Gabba with a pillow under his arm.
And the 30-year-old had to wait to rest as Australia frustrated England throughout the opening session.
Although the hosts lost two wickets, they advanced to 450-8 at the interval, leading by 116 runs.
Only twice before had England overturned a first-innings deficit of more than 100 to win a Test in Australia. The last time was at the Sydney Cricket Ground in 1979.
“I’m sorry, but that’s a shocking look,” Hayden, who played 103 Tests, said on Channel 7.
“If I were a hitter, I’ll tell you what I’d be doing, I’d be digging. Forever.
“It would be exactly what you need as a hitter, I can tell you that. You’d be watching and thinking ‘you’ll never sleep on that.'”
“At no time during this day are you going to see that. Not even at night are you going to see that.”
After Australia resumed at 378-6, England captain Ben Stokes trapped Michael Neser for 16.
England took the second new ball in 80 overs, with Gus Atkinson bowling Alex Carey for 63.
Archer shared the new ball with Atkinson, bowled five wicketless overs and conceded 13 runs.
And England could not find a way to separate themselves from the ninth-wicket partnership of Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland. The pair added 34 runs in 16 overs in the run-up to the break. Starc had moved up to 46 and Boland to seven.
The extra time spent batting in daylight is vital for Australia. It means England will face a newer ball when they bat under the floodlights later on Saturday.
England’s disappointing start to matchday three came after an error-plagued performance on Friday, when the tourists squandered five chances on the pitch.
Former captain Michael Vaughan questioned his preparation for this Ashes series and said England looked “tired”.
Archer returned to Test cricket in the home summer after a four-year layoff due to a series of serious injuries.
The Sussex man had bowled 25 overs in the first interval of the third day in Brisbane, his second-most in a Test innings since 2019, surpassed by the 26.1 he bowled in the first innings of the fourth Test against India at Old Trafford, the second match of his comeback.
On Friday, Archer bowled a seven-over spell immediately after the first interval, his longest unbroken spell in Test cricket in five years.
