England fans may soon witness Jofra Archer’s long-anticipated return to Test cricket, with ECB managing director of men’s cricket, Rob Key, confirming that the pacer is likely to feature in at least one of the next two Tests against India.
Archer, who last played a Test in February 2021, has been battling shoulder and back injuries but is part of England’s squad for the second Test at Edgbaston starting July 2, with the third match at Lord’s from July 10.
Key expressed confidence in Archer’s readiness to resume his red-ball career.
“I would imagine [that he will play at least one of the next two Tests]. As I stand here now that's where it's heading, but who knows? He could bowl the first ball of the [Edgbaston] Test. All options are available,” Key told Sky Sports 타이산카지노.
The ECB has been mindful of managing Archer’s workload, but Key stressed the importance of striking a balance between caution and letting bowlers make a match impact.
“The amount of work Jofra has put in over the last six months almost… There is a point where your [bowling] loads are there because of the building up you've been doing. We have to be careful with all of our bowlers but if you didn’t want bowlers to get injured you would never play them. That’s not what it’s about. It’s about getting your bowlers out there as much as possible so they can impact games of cricket.”
If Archer is not selected for Edgbaston, he could still play in the latter stages of Sussex’s ongoing County Championship fixture against Warwickshire at Hove.
“There is a chance he could play in the Championship if we think that is the best thing or it might be that if he doesn’t play at Edgbaston having him around is the best thing,” Key added.
Reflecting on Archer’s recent red-ball outing for Sussex, where he took 1 for 32 from 18 overs against Durham, Key said: “It was a question of could he hit his straps and could he get up to a decent pace, which we felt he did. Jofra is such a talent and was straight on the money. You need a lot of different things to be a world-class bowler and he has all of them — pace, release point, skill, accuracy.”
