Sussex star Archer suffers - on and off the pitch - as England lose to New Zealand

Jofra Archer's introduction to Test cricket away from home was tough - and not just because New Zealand ended up comfortable winners over England.
Jofra Archer offered resistance with the bat but England were beaten / Picture: Getty ImagesJofra Archer offered resistance with the bat but England were beaten / Picture: Getty Images
Jofra Archer offered resistance with the bat but England were beaten / Picture: Getty Images

Archer was looking to follow up his good form from the summer after impressing in the warm-up games in New Zealand before the series. The World Cup hero made four in England’s first innings at Mount Maunganui before struggling with the ball on an incredibly flat deck as he finished with figures of 1-107 from a staggering 42 overs.

England collapsed on day five when needing to bat all day to save the Test, Archer was one of the few batsmen that managed to show some resilience as he made 30 off 50 balls before the visitors were eventually bowled out for 197 as they lost by an innings and 65 runs.

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Afterwards Archer revealed he had been subjected to racist abuse from one member of the crowd. He said: "A bit disturbing hearing racial insults today whilst battling to help save my team." In a post on social media, he added: "The crowd has been amazing this week except for that one guy. The Barmy Army was good as usual."

The second and final Test starts on Thursday.

Other Sussex stars have been in action around the globe.

In Australia, Travis Head was also involved in the start of a Test series, with Australia taking on Pakistan. The vice-captain of his country, who will play for Sussex in 2020, made 24 in Australia’s first innings as they amassed a huge total of 580, a massive lead of 340 runs. The Australian bowlers dominated as Australia won by an innings and five runs.

It was a big week for players in the Abu Dhabi T10 league with the tournament concluding and a host of Sussex stars involved.

Luke Wright continued his fine form in the competition making scores of 40 not out, 20, 23 and 57 not out for Team Abu Dhabi but despite his contributions, they were only able to pick up one win as they failed to make the finals.

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David Wiese’s Bangla Tigers had a good start to the week with two wins and a tie elevating them through to the eliminator, a win putting them through to a qualifier for the final. Wiese had a brilliant start to the week with the ball bringing home figures of 1-26, 3-14 and 1-15 but in the eliminator he was unable to continue his form, going for 0-21 as The Tigers were eliminated.

Qalanders, a team packed with Sussex players, had a great chance at making the finals and despite losing two games during the week, they were able to qualify for the finals.

They were beaten by Deccan Gladiators by 24 runs despite contributions from Phil Salt (21) with the bat and George Garton (3-21) and Chris Jordan (1-19) with the ball. Qalanders were able to bounce back with back-to-back wins versus Karnataka Tuskers and Delhi Bulls with Garton continuing his stunning form with the ball taking 2-21 and 2-9, with Jordan chipping in with 1-22.

These wins took them through to the first qualifier versus Martha Arabians, a win taking them straight through to a final, a defeat meaning they would have to go through another qualifier. Garton (1-26) was able to provide a handy contribution with the ball to help restrict Qalander’s opponents to 119/6.

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Salt made a rapid 26 off 10 balls before Laurie Evans made 35 off just 17 balls but Qalanders fell seven runs short which meant they dropped into the second qualifier for the final. They faced Deccan Gladiators who batted first and made 116/7 with Garton (0-33) unable to carry on his sizzling form.

Salt (27no) and Evans (13) made handy contributions but they were unable to get Qalanders over the line as they lost by 12 runs.

There was one game left to play with Wiese facing off against his Sussex teammates in the third-place play-off. Qalanders batted first with Phil Salt the only Sussex player to feature, smashing 30 off 15 balls as his side posted a total of 109/3, with Wiese unable to do any damage with figures of 0-21.

Bangla Tigers were able to chase down the target with three balls to spare, Garton failing to impact with figures of 0-21 and Wiese not batting.

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Ravi Bopara, another who will wear a Sharks shirt in 2020, was again in action in the Mbanzsi Super League in South Africa with his side Durban Heat.

His only full game of the week (his other was washed out) saw Bopara hit 57 off 43 balls in his side’s total of 160 for five but they were still unable to pull off the win as they lost by five wickets to Nelson Mandela Bay Giants.

Danni Wyatt had a mixed week with her Big Bash League side, Melbourne Renegades, as they dropped out of the top four spots for the finals. The Renegades fell to a six-run defeat to Brisbane Heat despite Wyatt smashing 40 off just 18 balls. However, they bounced back in the Melbourne derby versus the Stars as the Gades’ won by seven wickets with Wyatt contributing nine runs.