McCullum backs Archer's fire, rules out batting-order shake-up

England head coach Brendon McCullum has backed Jofra Archer's intensity and ruled out any 'knee-jerk' changes to England's settled top seven, pushing back against growing scrutiny following the Brisbane Test defeat.

Archer came under the spotlight on the final day of the Day-Night Test when he bowled the fastest spell of his career and even indulged in verbals with Steve Smith at a time when Australia were chasing a fourth-innings target of 65 runs. There were questions raised - including by James Anderson - about the absence of sustained hostility when Australia were racking up 511 runs in the first innings.

McCullum defended Archer's approach, pointing to the realities of fast bowling and the danger of judging intent purely through speed. "Jofra is good," McCullum said. "He can say what he wants but if you mope around bowling 75 mile an hour in that last innings then the narrative [would] be very different right in the end.

"The skipper asked our boys to not mope around and not to feel sorry for yourself and we haven't been outplayed in this game but we have an opportunity over 60 odd runs to fire some bullets and see where we land. I have no problem with him stepping up to that level. It is impossible to bowl 150 odd every single time here."

McCullum suggested Archer's easy action can sometimes mask the effort and tactical control behind his spells. "The thing about Jofra is a very good ability to be able to go through the gears and because he's got an easy action as well I think it can often be misinterpreted as bowling within himself. Sometimes you need to bowl within yourself as well to be able to reduce your level of missing and to be a little bit more accurate and try and give yourself the best chance to zero in. Dale Steyn is a great example of that."

Drawing on historical parallels, McCullum said Archer's ability to shift gears was a strength rather than a concern. "Some of the old West Indian boys back in the day they used to operate up and down the gears as well and Jofra will be no different in this Test match when he gets the chance. I think he's been really good he hasn't had a lot of luck so far. He's all in."

Beyond pace and confrontation, McCullum highlighted Archer's workload and off-ball effort as evidence of his investment. "He bowled 25 overs the other day and chased the ball as hard as I've seen to the boundary on two occasions. He didn't run it down but that's the level of investment, the level of engagement and the level of commitment that Joff's got. That's what we expect from him."

McCullum also played down speculation over changes to England's batting order, despite Ollie Pope's inability to make it count with a big score from No.3 and Jacob Bethell waiting in the reserves. "From our point of view we've had a top seven now for a period of time and we've been reasonably successful with it. These conditions should suit the style of batters that we've got as well," McCullum said.

While conceding England have not scored enough runs in the series so far, the head coach framed the issue as one of execution rather than selection. Continuity, he said, remains central to England's approach. "We know we haven't got enough runs so far in the series. We've been in positions where we could have and we've made mistakes. That can happen at times.

"But for us to go on and win the series it's not about throwing out what's been a successful for us over the past few years. It's about having more conviction. It's about making sure that we have our plans and our disciplines around it screwed down a touch more. It's making sure we walk out and we're part of the loop and what we're capable of achieving. Knee-jerk reactions and chopping and changing settled batting line-ups is not really our way."