"I think it might be useful to play some music, some simulations of a crowd, something to create an atmosphere"
Tuesday 12 May 2020 19:52, UK
Jofra Archer says that playing behind closed doors "will take same getting used to" if and when cricket resumes following the coronavirus outbreak.
No top-level sport in England is expected to start until June 1, at the earliest, while the ECB is hopeful players will be able to begin one-to-one training sessions soon following the government's latest guidelines.
Archer believes the absence of a crowd will only highlight just how valuable supporters are to the team, while he hopes some artificial noise can be pumped into the ground to create some sort of atmosphere.
In his latest Daily Mail column, the England fast bowler said: "It will be hard to play in a stadium without supporters, but I understand it is necessary for things to start that way as we won't be able to test every single fan wanting to come into the ground.
"Although the crowd is an aspect we can sort out later, I think it will be one of those things you don't realise how much you need until it's gone. Take it away, and we will realise how much the supporters mean to us.
"Playing in complete silence will take some getting used to, I would imagine, so I think it might be useful to play some music, some simulations of a crowd, something to create an atmosphere.
"The best solution, if we do have to play behind closed doors, might be to have cheers and clapping when someone hits the ball for four or a wicket falls.
"These are the little things that will make it as normal as possible even though it won't be a normal occasion."
Archer made his England debut in a four-wicket ODI win over Ireland on May 3 last year, and has since had quite the introduction to international cricket, featuring in seven Test matches - including the 2019 Ashes series - and 14 ODIs, playing a starring role as England won the 2019 World Cup on home soil.
Reflecting on the epic Super-Over win over New Zealand in the final on a podcast for Rajasthan Royals, his current IPL franchise, Archer said: "We never imagined that it would have gone the way it did. I didn't even imagine I was going to bowl that last over either!
"I thought we were in good form with the bat and I thought we were going to cruise the total; we got to like five wickets down and most of the dressing room, I wouldn't say we were panicking, but we were a little bit nervous.
"A final has its own set of nerves that come with it. You don't even need to touch a ball or hold a bat to get nervous, especially when it's at Lord's and its packed, the sun is out and everyone is watching.
"But it happened and we came out on the winning side."
Also on the podcast, Archer recalled the moment he was picked up by the Royals in the auction for the 2018 IPL, long before he had burst onto the international stage.
"I had two phones at the time, one on the phone to CJ [Chris Jordan] and the other to my parents," said Archer. "I watched it but I remember before I told CJ that I probably won't play a game because I haven't played any international cricket.
"I told him I'll probably get picked up at my base price and I'll probably spend eight weeks in India and not play any cricket!
"When I saw the bidding start a few teams were going at it, and I was thinking 'wow I'm actually going to get to go to India for sure'.
"In the end Rajasthan got me for a bit more than I thought they should have! But I was still grateful regardless."
Subscribe to the Rajasthan Royals YouTube channel for more exclusive cricket content.
