Rory Burnshas warned Australia that debutant Jofra Archer is ready to fight fire with fire after England were subjected to some hostile bowling in the second Ashes Test at Lord’s.
England were dismissed for 258 on day two as the touring attack delivered on captain Tim Paine’s bold decision to bowl first.
Pace pair Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood frequently attacked with a barrage of short balls, leaving both Joe Denly and Chris Woakes requiring concussion tests after being struck on the helmet.
There was no let up when Archer arrived at the crease, with the Barbados-born quick dismissed by the last in a series of bumpers from Cummins.
The 24-year-old topped 90mph on several occasions during his own six-over burst before the close and while he found a tantalising rhythm on his first red-ball outing, he threatened the stumps more often than the bodies.
With Australia resuming on 30 for one, Burns does not expect the Sussex man to play nice for long.
Asked if Archer would be responding in kind on day three, the batsman said: “I would have thought so.
“He copped a fair few as well so he’s probably looking forward to getting his own back.
“It’s quite an obvious tactic. The boys were preparing for it and luckily we can dish out some of our own in this game as well. We’ve got some boys in our armoury who do the same thing so it should be pretty interesting.
“I think it’s tight. We’d have liked more runs but it’s a competitive total.“
Burns top-scored for England with 53, with Jonny Bairstow adding the other hard-fought half-century of an otherwise underwhelming day for the batsmen.
The England opener revealed that spinner Nathan Lyon had warned him to expect some rough stuff at the start of play and the Australia tailender is ready to receive plenty of the same when his time comes.
“I can’t bat, but I’ll go out and give it a go,“ he said.
“It’s Jofra’s first Test but he’s a world-class bowler, we know that. Stuart Broad the same thing.
“Of course it’s going to be challenging but that’s Test cricket. I want to challenge myself against the best in the world and these guys are the best bowlers in the world.“
Lyon’s haul of three on the day took him joint third on Australia’s all-time wickets list, moving level with Dennis Lillee and behind only the great duo of Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath.
“I haven’t had the time to sit back and think about it. I really struggle to see myself up with the likes of Warne, McGrath and Lillee,“ he said.
“It doesn’t sit well with me. In my eyes those guys are true legends of the game and I’m just some bloke trying to bowl off-breaks and make people proud of the Australian cricket team.“
