Jofra Archer's big-impact World Cup debut
Ben Stokes might have won the match award for England's win over South Africa, but Jofra Archer was the more deserving choice
ESPNcricinfo stats team
30-May-2019
Jofra Archer has only played four ODIs for England, but he has already made a huge impact with the ball, giving the bowling attack a much-needed edge, especially with the new ball, and his performance on World Cup debut was further proof that England had made the right move by adding him to their squad.
According to ESPNcricinfo's Smart Stats, which rates each batting and bowling performance in a match based on context and impact, Archer made the biggest contribution to England's convincing 104-run win over South Africa, ahead of Ben Stokes, the official Man of the Match. The methodology, which brings batting and bowling performances to a common platform, is based on a complex algorithm, which takes into account the following:
- The Smart Runs scored (which is the actual value of the runs scored, taking into account context and pressure on the player), plus the extra runs scored by the batsman, compared to what his team-mates would have scored off the balls he faced
Archer went at 3.85 runs per over in a match where the average run rate was 5.77, and he picked up three key wickets in the middle order - Aiden Markram, Faf du Plessis and Rassie van der Dussen. Two of those batsmen were dismissed early in their innings, before they could do any damage. Apart from all this, he also struck an early blow to South Africa's run-chase when he struck Hashim Amla on the helmet and forced him to retire hurt.
The Amla blow didn't fetch him any extra Smart Stats points, but even without that his total contribution to England's win was a whopping 23%. (The percentage is calculated by summing up the total points of every player in the match who positively contributed to the win.)
The other major contributor in the win was Stokes, of course. Stokes struck a crucial 89 off 79, and then chipped in with a couple of wickets as well. The two wickets were relatively low value as the match was already sealed, but the runs he scored were priceless. According to the algorithm, Stokes' 89 runs were worth 106 Smart Runs. Add his bowling contribution, and his total contribution to the win was 18.8%.
Liam Plunkett was third, ahead of the three batsmen who chipped in with half-centuries, because of the two big wickets he took - Quinton de Kock and Amla.
Add the useful fifties from Jason Roy, Joe Root and Eoin Morgan, and England have every reason to be delighted with the start of their 2019 World Cup campaign.