How Stokes's advice worked for Archer in Super Over

How Stokes's advice worked for Archer in Super Over







"Win or lose, today does not define you" - Those were the words of advice Ben Stokes gave to Jofra Archer 

"Win or lose, today does not define you."

Those were the words of advice Ben Stokes gave to Jofra Archer before the 24-year old bowled the Super Over that would end with England as World Cup winners.

With 16 to defend after the hosts and New Zealand had squared up 241 a-piece in the first 100 overs of play, there were echoes of the 2016 World T20 Final. Then, it was Stokes needing to shield 19 runs against West Indies - specifically, Carlos Brathwaite.

What followed was four sixes and an extended period of trauma that Stokes, to his credit, not just owned but has been able to emerge from with a man-of-the-match performance at Lord's with an unbeaten 84 in keeping with a stellar tournament in which he averaged 66.

Archer's first ball in this stanza was a wide and when his third ball went for six, there was a dreadful sense of deja vu. But with the support of his captain Eoin Morgan, and Stokes's words beforehand, Archer held his nerve to close out the over with the scores tied but England taking the prize with a superior boundary count of 26 to 17.

"The skipper really believed in me, even after the six," said Archer. "A lot of captains could have been hands in head, and head down and pacing all over the place. But he was really calm, really understanding.

"It's a great bunch of fellas, especially [Ben Stokes] trying to calm me down before I bowled. I thought it was going fine...Until the six! And that's when Stokesy told me, even before the over, 'Win or lose, today does not define you.' So that everyone believes in me. [Joe] Rooty came up to me and said some inspirational words as well. I knew that even if we did lose, it was not the end of the world."

It has been something of a wild ride for Archer, who has had ambitions to play for England which became a reality in March when he qualified. The Bajan speedster, who has an English father, was going to have to wait seven years to qualify before a change in the England and Wales Cricket Board's ruling reduced the qualification period to three.

To say he has fitted in well would be an understatement. He has added to the dressing room environment and, in turn, has had what he regards as the time of his life. A World Cup winners' medal helps, of course.

"I think I've probably had the best two months of my life, so far. Making my [England] debut. Making my World Cup debut. Playing in a World Cup, all within two months, it's special. Really, really special to me. Hopefully I can look back. Ten years, 15 years, longer than that, and say that I was a part of that."