Archer was afraid he had ‘messed the series up’ after Headingley dismissal

Archer was dismissed for 15 in Leeds, leaving England on 286/8 in a chase of 359, but it was more the manner of his dismissal that had him kicking himself. With England still needing 76 to level the series, and just three wickets in hand, Archer took on the off-spin of Nathan Lyon, but holed out to deep mid-wicket while trying to slog him. It left England with an improbable ask to remain in contention to reclaim the urn, before Ben Stokes rallied with No.11 Jack Leach to pull off a stunning heist.

"I wanted to make it less hard work for Ben, but I got out," Archer told ESPNcricinfo. "I thought I had messed the series up, not just the game but the series, so I was actually very, very relieved that we are still alive and fighting.

"Your coach always tells you, don't leave it for anyone else. I tried to do as much of it as I could. We have all seen enough cricket to know, 80 to win, with just one wicket left against the Australian bowling attack … We were very grateful to be on the winning side, that is all I can say."

Archer opined that the impact of the shocking defeat would reflect in Australia’s actions over the rest of the series. A win, which they were well-placed to earn at Headingley, would have kept the urn in their possession. Instead, they now have to go back to the drawing board, and scratch and claw again, as the series remains wide open with two Tests to play.

That Australia lost was partly down to their creaking under pressure. They burned a review towards the closing stages of the humdinger, and it cost them later, when Stokes was adjudged not out on an lbw call against Lyon.

That was sandwiched by Lyon fluffing a straightforward collection, with Leach miles outside his crease, which would have ended England’s fight with them two away from a win.

"That is the thing, never get complacent," Archer said. "To be fair to them, 350 runs is a lot of runs. I think anyone else would have been in the same position. The crowd started getting on their backs as well, I think they panicked a bit. They thought they would have rolled us after getting a few quick early wickets, but that was it. They did not go through us as they would have wanted, and I'm glad we did show some resistance.

"The series is not over. The upcoming games, they will think twice. I don't think they will declare now. I don't think they will be too attacking. If they get a draw, they will still retain, so let's see how the next Test goes. The way they play might be a bit different."

Clinching rip-roaring thrillers seems to have become England’s favourite endeavour lately, but Archer felt that this finish outdid that of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2019 final.

"We had a lot more runs [to get] and a lot less wickets on Sunday. It felt a bit more impossible,” he said. “Anything can happen in white-ball cricket. You have the Super Over, another chance. But red-ball, there's nothing; if you lose, you lose. There's no extra time."