Gus Atkinson plays down Jofra Archer comparisons on the back of dream debut

It was only three years ago that Gus Atkinson made his first appearance in the shortest format as a professional cricketer, but on Friday (September 1), the Surrey quick found himself in dreamland as in what was his first international cap, the tearaway quick finished with figures of 4/20, the best ever for any Englishman on T20I debut. 

Known for his raw pace, having showcased the same in the 2023 edition of The Hundred, Atkinson was too hot to handle for the Kiwis, who were blown away by his speed. The ease with which Atkinson crossed the 90 mph barrier, in particular, drew comparisons with Jofra Archer from many, including former skipper Michael Atherton.

"I think there are similarities with Archer. A beautiful wrist action and in tight to the stumps,” Atherton told Sky Sports on the back of the first T20I.

However, Atkinson played down the comparisons, though he admitted they’ve been around for more than a year now.

"Probably a year-and-a-half now," Atkinson told ESPN Cricinfo, when asked how long the comparisons have been floating around.

"I don't like to think about that much to be honest."

Considering Atkinson had played little to no T20s three years ago, his rise is a remarkable one. The 25-year-old has always had the talent but everything fell into place for him in The Hundred, where apart from taking 10 wickets for The Oval Invincibles, he caught the attention of every single person by bowling rockets. In one of the matches, Atkinson was clocked at 152 kph.

On the back of his dream debut, the 25-year-old said that he’s always had tremendous self-belief, and has always believed that he could ‘explode’ if given the chance.

"I knew that once I got going, it could happen quickly," Atkinson said. 

"I've always known my ability and what I can do and I always knew once I had a chance with the games… The Hundred's a big opportunity and I knew if I could perform in that it would happen quickly and thankfully it has."

On debut, Atkinson accounted for the wickets of Devon Conway, Tim Seifert, Tim Southee and Lockie Ferguson but the speedster admitted that he was extremely nervous in lead-up to the contest. However, he revealed that, much to his surprise, all nerves disappeared once he got that dreaded first ball out of the way.

"I felt at home. You just want to get that first ball out of the way, then your first over, first wicket whatever and thankfully that came quickly. I was thinking about it a bit overnight, like hopefully my first over goes well, then I'll be okay from there and thankfully it [was].

"I thought the nerves would kick in later on but once I got that first ball, first wicket and first over out of the way, then it was happy days."

Atkinson, remarkably, has played only 2 List A games but has regardless been named in England’s provisional 50-over World Cup squad. The pacer will, in all likelihood, make his ODI debut in the ODIs against the Kiwis starting on September 8th.

When asked about his inexperience playing 50-over cricket, the speedster said that he should do alright thanks to having played plenty of four-day cricket (14 FC matches).

"I haven't played much 50-over cricket but I've played a bit of Championship cricket this year, so should be all right," he said.