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 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 engaged in verbals with Steve Smith as Australia chased a small target. Questions were raised about the absence of sustained hostility during Australia's large first-innings total.

McCullum defended Archer's approach, pointing to the realities of fast bowling. "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. 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… Sometimes you need to bowl within yourself to be more accurate. Dale Steyn is a great example of that."

Drawing on historical parallels, McCullum said Archer's ability to shift gears was a strength. "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. I think he's been really good he hasn't had a lot of luck so far. He's all in."

McCullum highlighted Archer's workload and 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. That's the level of commitment that Joff's got."

McCullum also played down speculation over changes to England's batting order, despite Ollie Pope's struggles at No.3. "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."

While conceding England have not scored enough runs in the series, the head coach framed the issue as one of execution rather than selection. "We know we haven't got enough runs so far. We've been in positions where we could have and we've made mistakes. But for us to go on and win the series it's not about throwing out what's been successful. Knee-jerk reactions and chopping and changing settled batting line-ups is not really our way."