Jofra Archer may have to wait until third Test for England return

Times

4 hours ago

Jofra Archer's return to the England team could be delayed until the third Test against India after Rob Key, England's director of cricket, stopped short of confirming the fast bowler would play next week at Edgbaston, hinting his return might be delayed until the week after.
Archer, 30, was named in the squad for the match which begins on Wednesday in Birmingham and Key said he was confident the Sussex seam bowler could 'hit the ground running' when he does play. However, he remained non-committal about whether Archer's return to Test cricket for the first time since 2021 is imminent or will be delayed until the third Test at Lord's the following week.
'We've picked him in the squad, and we'll see how the conditions are. We've got a decision to make because these next two Tests are very close together.
'You want to be able to sustain pressure throughout these back-to-back Test matches and the guys [who bowled at Headingley] got better the more they bowled [in the match]' Key said at a Rothesay event in London.
'To see Archer back or when he finally comes back either next week or the week after will be brilliant. He's such an unbelievable talent and it's been such a long road.'
Key was not concerned with Archer's lack of first-class cricket even though he has only played only one match — last week against Durham — since May 2021 because of a string of career-threatening injuries, saying his return to Test matches had been meticulously planned for the past two years.
'We have mapped it out for two years now. From T20s and four-over spells into 50-over cricket to build up his robustness to now. He's been doing so much work in the lead-up, even when he's not playing, [to be] building up his resilience,' Key said.
Ben Stokes usually names his team two days before the start of a Test match meaning they could announce their XI on Monday and therefore allow for the possibility of Archer or any other spare bowlers (for example, Jamie Overton and Sam Cook if unselected) to play the final two days of the next round of County Championship matches. The ECB's playing regulations allow for England players to be substituted in or out of county matches provided they play in at least two of the four days of the match.
This week Paul Farbrace, Archer's head coach at Sussex, expressed doubts over whether the fast bowler should be rushed back in for the second Test, saying he would save him for the third Test at Lord's. Nonetheless, Key said he was not concerned about Archer's lack of cricket and, unlike some bowlers, can hit his straps with not many overs under his belt.
'The spectrum for that is Mark Wood, someone that can just turn up after a bit of bowling in the nets like he did at Headingley in the Ashes [in 2023] and bowls 96 mph, swinging it and hitting a length,' Key said. 'Jofra is close to Wood on that front. He's a pretty pure talent; there's not a lot of moving parts to his action in terms of complications, he's 30 years old now and he knows exactly what he's doing and what he's about.
'Jofra has always been adamant in the time I have been in this job that he's wanted to play Test cricket again. He could have been tempted to go down other routes. I've always had faith in Jofra.'
It is that faith that Archer would return and be a vital part of England's Ashes campaign that meant Key decided to keep the fast bowler on a full ECB central contract worth about £750,000 a year, even though he has not been playing Test cricket. The goal has been to ensure the ECB remained his main employer, rather than T20 franchise teams, so it could carefully manage his workloads and rehabilitation.
Archer made a successful return to England white-ball cricket in May last year and has played at the past two ICC global tournaments, the T20 World Cup last June and the Champions Trophy in February. He was due to play for the England Lions this month as part of his return to red-ball cricket but had to pull out after breaking the thumb on his non-bowling hand while playing in the IPL in May.
Key was impressed with Archer's immediate return to rhythm during his outing for Sussex against Durham.
'He was straight on the money, bowling on a slow pitch with good pace. He isn't going to forget how to bowl, so when we have that call [to pick him], we're not concerned. He will be fit and available for both Tests [Edgbaston and Lord's].'