England's score of 175 is slightly worse than the average of 244 in the first innings of the ODI in Hamilton.
In fact, it's over a hundred runs shy of the average winning score (287) when batting first.
With so few balls to bowl, England's bowlers need to combine sharpness with control.
Archer, a two-time top-order fast bowler, brought them both together in 10 overs and made his mark in his first outing of the winter.
The 30-year-old set the tone with a sweeping pass in his first leg to put Young into the lead in the shot put.
The New Zealand batsmen then jumped at the crease and Archer bared his teeth with some jarring short balls.
Archer also has great pace. His average speed over two starts was 87.4 mph, with his fastest delivery of the day being 90.2 mph.
The Barbados-born fast bowler's other two wickets were due more to luck – Ravindra hooking him to Adil Rashid at deep and Bracewell putting a shuttle off his pad into the gloves of wicketkeeper Jos Buttler.
However, they won under pressure. Archer bowled 51 runs in ODIs, the most he has bowled after giving away 10 overs.
“He's a great bowler,” Brook said afterwards.
“Everybody loves watching him – 90 mph, throwing both ways. For him to go 3-23 is awesome. It's great to have him back.”
Archer's injury problems and careful management over the past few years have been well documented.
But the fact that he seemed willing to throw himself all over the pitch – diving to stop the ball on the fine-leg boundary – suggested he had left no scars.
Nothing will stand in the way this winter.
England head coach Brendan McCullum and captain Ben Stokes will be excited to note. Australia will do the same, but with a little more trepidation.