Bob Willis’ England ratings: Jofra Archer gets top marks after second Ashes Test

Bob Willis gave searing seamer Jofra Archer top marks after his stunning Test debut at Lord’s – but how did he grade the rest of England’s players?

Find out below as he dishes out the scores after the drawn second Ashes Test, in which England’s push for victory was hampered by rain and a dogged performance from concussion substitute Marnus Labuschagne…

Let us know if you agree with Bob’s ratings on Twitter @SkyCricket…

Rory Burns – 6/10

Rory has battled very well. Australia have well and truly peppered him with the short ball, and that will be the theme for the rest of the series, but he stood up to it well. While he still tends to struggle against that type of bowling, he was very brave and committed.

Jason Roy – 3/10

Poor Roy is finding his conversion from white-ball to red-ball cricket a very difficult one indeed, he doesn’t seem to have the technique to cope with it at the top level. I think England are going to have to make a change and slot him into the middle order.

Joe Root – 5/10

It’s not really working out for Joe at No 3 in the order so far, having to come to the crease very early on because of Roy’s failures. He nicked off first ball in the second innings, which can happen to anyone, but he is scratching around at the moment. Helping his score is that he captained well, getting the timing of his final-day declaration just about right even though England couldn’t force victory.

Joe Denly – 4/10

I’m not hopeful of either Denly or Roy proving to be long-term Test match cricketers, but there’s nobody beating the door down to take their spots, so shifting Denly up to open would seem to be the simple thing to do. Joe’s problem is he looks ok at the crease but then finds different ways of getting out. I fear his technique isn’t quite tight enough to deal with Australia’s attack.

Ben Stokes – 8/10

Stokes’ innings on the final day was an absolute revelation, a quite superb hundred, especially given his struggles on the fourth evening, specifically against Nathan Lyon. England have to make their mind up about where he bats in the order, and how many overs he can therefore bowl, but I’d bat him as high as No 4, with Roy slotting in behind him.

Jos Buttler – 6/10

I was encouraged by Jos’ effort in the second innings with the bat. He too, like Stokes, looked to be really struggling on the fourth evening but he battled it out and the pair blunted the Australian attack in the shortened morning session on the final day. It’s a shame he got out when he did; it’s really time he started adding to his one Test hundred.

Jonny Bairstow – 7/10

A welcome return to form after a poor run of scores in the Ireland Test at Lord’s and the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston. He gave an interview during the match, saying he wanted to keep the gloves and bat down at No 7, but as England continue to struggle with their batting, they may have to consider moving him up the order again.

Chris Woakes – 6/10

A rare disappointing Test for Woakes at Lord’s, where he usually plays so well. I was surprised Root bowled him so little – he bowled 10 overs less than Jofra Archer in the first innings and only three in the second. Not quite at his best and may be the most vulnerable if James Anderson gets back fit – though there are no current rumblings of his return in the near future.

Jofra Archer – 10/10

A quite unbelievable Test match debut! He has changed the whole dynamic of this Ashes series. It was one of the most dramatic sequences of cricket I’ve ever seen, his spell to Steve Smith on the fourth afternoon – probably, consistently, the quickest fast bowler England have ever had up against the best Test batsman in the world currently.

Stuart Broad – 8/10

Continues to impress. He is pitching the ball up that little bit more this summer, having progressively done so season-on-season during his last five years in the England side – the message has finally got through. He did a terrific job again in this Test and seems to currently have David Warner’s number.

Jack Leach – 7/10

Gave Root the control that Moeen Ali was unable to and got the ball to turn viciously out of the rough on the final day. It’s just a shame for him that so much of the Test was lost to rain – with a bit more play, and a bit more damage to the surface, he might have been even more of a handful. I thought he did extremely well and he should now be a fixture for the rest of the series.

Watch day one of the third Ashes Test between England and Australia, at Headingley, live on Sky Sports The Ashes (channel 404) and Main Event (channel 401) from 10am on Thursday.

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(c) Sky Sports 2019: Bob Willis’ England ratings: Jofra Archer gets top marks after second Ashes Test