WHY PACE SELLS

Rabada v Archer promises to be the 90mph showdown that could decide both series

WORDS: ZAAHIER ADAMS

Photos: BackpagePix

EXCITEMENT always abounds when there are genuine fast bowlers on the scene. Perhaps it’s the innate caveman instinct within all of us that gets the adrenalin pumping. The unadulterated thrills of watching a hunter attack its prey with full gusto.

And when those fast men resemble thoroughbreds such as South Africa’s Kagiso Rabada and Jofra Archer, who are set to go head to head over the next month, it is simply tantalising.

Although Rabada is 54 days younger than Barbados-born Archer, he is undisputedly the senior statesman. The South African spearhead has played 140 international matches already for the Proteas, dating back to his T20 international debut in 2014 against Australia. He has already worn the mantle of the World No 1 fast bowler.

Archer, meanwhile, only qualified for England last year ahead of the World Cup on home soil and has accumulated 32 caps across all formats since.

However, it was during that World Cup that Archer obtained immortality. While Rabada failed to live up his much-hyped pre-tournament billing, it was Archer who fast developed into the poster boy alongside maverick all-rounder Ben Stokes for the host nation.

Archer was devastating from the outset. In the opening game against the Proteas at the Oval he felled veteran Hashim Amla with a rapid bouncer. The blow seemed to signify just how far SA were off the pace. He continued to deliver searing rockets at great intensity, accuracy and aggression.

Furthermore, he also showed he had the temperament to close out the biggest of all matches, the World Cup final before a roaring Lord’s crowd, when he held his nerve in an epic Super Over to drive England to their first ever 50-over crown.

The English media, never fearful of lauding their own, immediately dubbed him “King Jofra”.

Rabada, meanwhile, was at a crossroads that culminated in him being banned for the final Test against England at the Wanderers in January this year.

The messiah of SA cricket. The golden child. The chosen one, who carried the hopes of the entire Rainbow Nation every time he started his galloping run-up, had discovered that the world does indeed owe him nothing.

He needed to fight for something he wanted for the first time in his life.

The Covid-19 break enforced a period of self introspection, and Rabada went away and tried to rediscover the passion that made him such a feared entity. Anyone who watched Rabada at the recent IPL would quickly ascertain that the fire in his belly was back. Rabada was hungry again, which is the fuel that drives every great fast bowler. “The Gautrain” was once again entangled in a dual with Archer for the purple cap – the prize handed to the leading wicket-taker in the IPL. On this occasion, it was Rabada who came up trumps.

Like the challenges Rabada faces in trying to operate within the framework of the ICC’s stringent rules and regulations without dousing the passion for his craft, Archer faces his own demons.

A natural socialite Archer has struggled with the bio-bubble environment cricketers have to contend with during this “new-normal” period in the game. He has stated numerously that it’s been “mentally challenging” and that “you do sometimes feel like you hit a wall.”

In fact, Archer was banned for the second Test against the West Indies in July this year due to breaching England’s bio-bubble regulations after taking a detour home to Brighton between matches.

Perhaps these brushes with the authorities are a reminder to all of us that they are both still only 25-years-old. And that, in fact, their best is yet to come.