Rob Key, the managing director of England men’s cricket, was caught by surprise during a press conference after learning from a journalist that Jofra Archer had made his comeback to competitive cricket without the ECB’s permission.
A press conference was called to discuss the England Test team selected to tour India, but Archer was not included. But the right-arm fast bowler was spotted at the nets ahead of the third ODI between England and West Indies as he continued his comeback from injury, and Key was asked about his progress.
“Jofra was bowling here. He was swaying, as you often see with Jofra, and what do you think is going to happen here?” said Key. “And at the end he was bowling 95 miles an hour and looked like an absolute genius. But let’s take it slow with him. We don’t want to put a deadline on him. We’ve done that in the past. You may. We’re trying to learn from what we’ve done with Jofra in the past. So I’m not going to say, “Okay, I’ll have you do this part here and then I’ll move on,” but I’m just going to take it easy. The elbow is a complex area to injure, so we want to treat it as slowly as possible. ”
Key was then asked if Archer had played club cricket yesterday, but the former Kent University captain remained unaware of this development.
“I don’t know if he played club cricket yesterday,” he said. “Maybe he did, who knows? No, I don’t know. I’ll look into it later.”
According to the Barbados Cricket Association website, Archer had 4 wins and 18 losses on the first day of three days of matches for his alma mater team, the Foundation. Reports say that one of his on these wickets injured his left arm while bowling.
Archer’s last top-flight appearance was in the 2023 Indian Premier League in May, and his career has been plagued by injuries in recent years. Key confirmed that the ECB had banned Archer from taking part in the 2024 IPL bid after he was released by Mumbai Indians.
“While Jofra was keen to participate in the IPL auction, we believe it is best to control it,” he said. “Hopefully it’ll take a few more months, but he’s got a few more years in his career, a little more life left and he’ll come back in earnest. I think he deserves a gold medal, Jofra. ” We all get so excited when he bowls. ”
