Jofra Archer bowls fastest first over by an England bowler in history on Test return

Jofra Archer was right on the money for the opening over of the ongoing England vs New Zealand second of the three-match Test series. Archer, who played the IPL 2026 season for the Rajasthan Royals till the end, and missed the opening Test of the series at home, attracted a lot of criticism, and questions were raised against his work ethic.

Due to fitness concerns and workload management, the pacer was uncertain to feature in the second Test as well. After the Ben Stokes incident at a nightclub, involving pacer Gus Atkinson, the England team management had to include Jofra Archer in the playing eleven to form a strong combination to continue the winning momentum that they have earned by winning the first Test of the ongoing series against New Zealand.

Jofra Archer walked in and created a record

According to the stats, Jofra Archer has created a record as an England pace bowler in the format, without taking any wickets. In the very first over of the first innings of the game at The Oval, Archer was absolutely on fire, with the red ball in hand.

‘X’ profile ‘England’s Barmy Army’ has shared some interesting stats about England’s first over today. According to the stats they have shared through a post, “Jofra Archer’s opening over was 144.7kph (89.9mph). That’s the fastest any England bowler has bowled in the first over of a Test since records began in 2006, as well as the fastest first over of a Test in England in that time.”

Jofra Archer. RAPID. 🔥#ENGvNZ pic.twitter.com/VLLRoC57U7

— England’s Barmy Army 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🎺 (@TheBarmyArmy) June 17, 2026

The deliveries were on the line of the stupms

For the very first ball of the over, Archer’s intention was very clear: he wanted to hit the wicket. Some of the balls of the over were on the line of the wicket, and some of them pitched fuller with pure pace, as it was mentioned in the post.

At the toss, England’s skipper for the match, Joe Root, made it clear that they were opting to bowl first, only to utilize the surface as much as possible. The Oval’s pitch is mostly known for supporting the pacers. Traditionally, especially in the Tests, when all of the players are required to save some energy for the rest of the day, they start bowling on a slower sight.

Archer took the opposite route today. Instead of keeping the pace low, he welcomed New Zealand captain Tom Latham and Devon Conway with red-hot pace. Both of the openers faced the deliveries with extra precaution.

England is against New Zealand with an inexperienced bowling attack

Root mentioned that after the tumultuous days ahead of the match, they named an inexperienced bowling line-up, with Atkinson and Ollie Robinson, both of the experienced pacers, ruled out of the match because of separate reasons.

In their absence, the England team management retained Jofra Archer in their line-up, along with the bowlers like Josh Tongue, Matthew Fisher, and Sonny Baker. As of now, Archer has delivered 4 overs, including a maiden, and remains wicketless. Matthew Fishe claims Conway’s wicket.