Injury-hit pace bowler Jofra Archer will play his first cricket test for England in 4 1/2 years after being selected for the third match of the series against India starting Thursday at Lord's.
It was at the home of cricket where Archer exploded onto the international scene, playing a starring role in England's victory over New Zealand in the 50-over Cricket World Cup final in 2019 — soon after switching nationality.
The Barbados-born quick has been blighted by a succession of injuries since, chiefly because of nagging issues with his right elbow for which he has undergone two operations. His most recent test appearance for his adopted country was against India in Ahmedabad in February 2021.
Archer will make his test return against the same opponent, having missed the first two tests which were shared by England and India. He will replace Josh Tongue in the only change from the second test at Edgbaston, which India won by 336 runs.
England captain Ben Stokes said Archer's return “has been a long time coming.”
“The way in which he has handled the injury setbacks over that period has been very commendable,” Stokes said.
“It was exciting to have him back in the squad but now to say he is in the playing XI, it's very exciting for the group but a great day for Jof and he is going to be pretty proud of himself that he has managed to get back here.”
Devastating test debut
It will be just his 14th test for England since making a devastating debut in the longest format — also at Lord's — during the Ashes series against Australia in August 2019, when he shook up Steve Smith in a memorably hostile spell.
“I think it’s obvious whenever he does get the ball in his hand, there is that change in the game,” Stokes said. "I think the opposition feel it because they know what he can do in a spell.
“I don’t think there's any reason why we cant see Jofra operating at a level like we have seen him here at Lord’s on his debut.”
Stokes confident
Archer's injury woes appear to have cleared up somewhat and he has played regularly for England's ODI and T20 teams over the past year, as well as for teams in the IPL and England. He most recently came through a red-ball County Championship match for Sussex, his only first-class game in which he has proved his fitness.
Asked if that was enough to show Archer's readiness to play India, Stokes said: "Stop having as a default going to the worst (scenario). We are a very good nation at doing that.
“If we didn’t think he’s in a position to get through a test match as a bowler, then we wouldn't be considering him for selection."
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England team: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (captain), Jamie Smith, Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, Shoaib Bashir.
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AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket
Steve Douglas, The Associated Press
