Andrew Strauss has voiced his concern over Jofra Archer being “rushed back to quickly”. The injury-plagued fast bowler has been included as a travelling reserve in England’s World Cup squad.
On the ‘In The Zone’ podcast, Strauss was asked if he was concerned about Archer potentially aggravating old injuries if he was called up to England’s main squad. After clarifying that it would be “fantastic” to see Archer playing for England again, Strauss said: “The dangerous thing about Jofra Archer is that he could do things that others couldn’t,” he said. I can’t do that.
“He played in the last World Cup as a rookie and bowled in a super over. This guy suddenly appeared out of nowhere. I mean, he hasn’t played for a long time and he’s coming back soon. It means you have unrealistic expectations that you can do it.” And start now.”
Archer qualified for the 2019 World Cup after qualifying for England and playing three ODIs. He finished the tournament as the third highest wicket-taker, taking 20 wickets in the tournament at an average of 23.05. He also bowled a super over in the final at Lord’s, limiting runs from Jimmy Neesham and Martin Guptill to 15 runs, securing England’s first victory.
Since the final, Archer has played only seven ODIs as injuries kept him out of the game for long periods. A stress fracture in his elbow caused him to miss the series against South Africa in January 2020, but he returned later that year. He underwent surgery on his elbow in May 2021 and again in December of the following year.
The ECB announced that Archer suffered a stress fracture in his back in May 2022 but was able to return to England colors for the ODI series against South Africa earlier this year. Archer played in IPL 2023 in Mumbai where he played his five matches for the Indians before returning home injured.
When England announced their World Cup squad, Archer was selected as the only traveling reserve player, but it was confirmed that he would be unfit to play, at least for the first half.
“I would be cautious in assuming he will play a role in this World Cup in any way,” Strauss said. “I think he should have a long-term plan. He’s already had two stress fractures in his elbow, but let’s play the long game here. If that means he misses this World Cup… , we need to take a long-term view if it means playing T20 cricket next year and then gradually progressing to 50-over cricket and even Test cricket, because before he gets pushed back. This is because it was too fast.
“Even if he came, it would be crazy to expect him to deliver right away. He relied on his pace, but he hasn’t played much cricket and his body is not ready. It’s hard to go over 90 mph right away if you don’t have a lot of confidence that you’re on track.
“It’s great for him to be close to his own environment again. There are still people out there who are worried that he won’t play for England again. First of all, he needs to be ready to play. Let’s get over that hurdle and then move on from there.”
England will play New Zealand in their first World Cup match tomorrow (October 5) in Ahmedabad. Less than 24 hours before the match, Jos Buttler announced that Ben Stokes was doubtful to play due to a hip injury.
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