Jofra Archer has been criticised by former Australia opener Matthew Hayden for the “shocking look” of arriving for the third day of the second Ashes Test with a pillow.
With England needing four wickets to wrap up the Australia first innings in order to keep their Ashes hopes alive, fast bowler Archer was seen before play at the Gabba with a pillow tucked under his arm.
And the 30-year-old was made to wait for his rest as Australia frustrated England throughout the entire opening session.
Though the hosts lost two wickets, they moved to 450-8 by the interval, leading by 116 runs.
Only twice before have England overturned a first-innings deficit of more than 100 to win a Test in Australia. The last time was at the Sydney Cricket Ground in 1979.
“I’m sorry, but that’s a shocking look,” Hayden, who played 103 Tests, said on Channel 7.
“If I was a batsman, I tell you what I’d be doing, I’d be digging in. Forever.
“It would be exactly what you need as a batsman, I can tell you. You’d be looking over and thinking ‘you are never going to sleep on that’.
“Not any part of this day are you going to see that. Not even in the night are you going to see that.”
After Australia resumed on 378-6, England captain Ben Stokes had Michael Neser caught behind for 16.
England took the second new ball at 80 overs, with Gus Atkinson taking the edge of Alex Carey for 63.
Archer shared the new ball with Atkinson, bowling five wicketless overs and conceding 13 runs.
And England could not find a way to part ninth-wicket partnership Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland. The pair added 34 runs in 16 overs in the run-up to the break. Starc had moved to 46 and Boland seven.
The extra time spent batting in daylight is vital for Australia. It means England will be facing a newer ball when they bat under floodlights later on Saturday.
England’s deflating opening to the third day came after an error-strewn performance on Friday, when the tourists missed five chances in the field.
Former captain Michael Vaughan questioned their preparedness for this Ashes series, saying England looked “jaded”.
Archer returned to Test cricket in the home summer after a four-year lay-off because of a string of serious injuries.
The Sussex man had bowled 25 overs by the first interval on the third day in Brisbane, his second-most in a Test innings since 2019 – beaten by the 26.1 he bowled in the first innings of the fourth Test against India at Old Trafford, the second match of his comeback.
On Friday, Archer bowled a seven-over spell immediately after the first interval – his longest uninterrupted spell in Test cricket for five years.
