England’s Ashes hopes were dealt a familiar blow by Jofra Archer’s latest injury setback.
The 28-year-old fast bowler will play no part in the eagerly anticipated five-Test series against Australia that begins next month after suffering a recurrence of a stress fracture in his right elbow.
“It has been a frustrating and upsetting period for Jofra Archer. He was making good progress until a recurrence of the elbow injury, which kept him out for an extended period previously,” Rob Key, the managing director for England men’s cricket said in a statement.
“We wish him the best of luck with his recovery. I’m sure we will see Jofra back to his best and winning games for England, whatever the format. Hopefully, sooner rather than later.”
The addition of “whatever the format” carries foreboding for fans of England and Test cricket as a whole.
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Archer is that very rare commodity — a fast bowler capable of frequently hitting speeds in excess of 90 mph while retaining the control and accuracy to make his skills for moving the ball late brutally effective.
However, the Barbados-born paceman’s beautifully languid and rhythmical action has not made him immune to the injury woes that customarily affect cricket’s quickest bowlers.
He played the most recent of his 13 Tests against India in Chennai more than two years ago. Dramatic as this might sound given his relatively young age, it is tempting to wonder whether it will prove to be his last.
Jofra Archer injury timeline
After taking advantage of a British passport and declaring his intention to play for England, there was plenty of anticipation over Archer’s pending debut in 2019.
This was largely based upon standout performances in T20 franchise leagues across the world but it was soon apparent that Archer would be an asset with red and white ball.
He forced his way into Eoin Morgan’s squad for the 2019 World Cup and starred, sharing the new ball with Chris Woakes to take 20 wickets at 23.05.
England’s leading wicket-taker was entrusted with the super over in the final and Archer held his nerve as the hosts squeezed past New Zealand on boundary countback.
There was understandable clamour for Archer to feature in the subsequent Ashes series and, after England lost the opener at Edgbaston, he announced himself as a red ball force with a brutal spell at Australia’s star batter Steve Smith on debut at Lord’s.
After five wickets at HQ, Archer turned the pace down but beguiled Australia with seam and swing when taking 6/45 and eight wickets in the match at Headingley.
He finished his maiden Test series, which ended in a 2-2 draw that saw Australia retain the urn, with 22 wickets at 20.27, one shy of Stuart Broad’s 23-wicket haul and leading the averages for England.
After that, the problems started. Although Archer suffered no injuries as a direct result of sending down 42 overs on a lifeless Mount Maunganui pitch during the 2019 tour of New Zealand, then-captain Joe Root saw his handling of the prized pace asset heavily criticised.
He only played once on the following tour of South Africa, albeit taking 5/102 in the Boxing Day Test at Centurion.
Various niggles afflicted Archer over the next 18 months and he underwent elbow surgery in 2021 after the T20I series in India.
That proved to be the last international cricket Archer played until January 2023. A return was delayed as he became the latest of several England bowlers to be laid low by a lower-back stress fracture.
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His appearances in the white ball series away from home in South Africa and Bangladesh offered glimpses of his best form and tentative excitement preceded his IPL return with Mumbai Indians.
But five matches and just two wickets later, Archer’s race was run.
“Archer has been recovering from right elbow surgery. However, pushing through the discomfort whilst recently playing, hoping it will settle, has proven challenging,” an ECB statement issued on May 9 read.
“Therefore, it has been agreed for him to return to the UK for a period of rest and rehabilitation to give him the best opportunity for a full recovery.”
Now we know that, by the time that full recovery is hopefully achieved, the 2023 Ashes series will be complete after an announcement that accompanied Archer being left out of the 15-man squad to face Ireland at Lord’s next month.
Will Jofra Archer play Test cricket again?
There can be few questions over Archer’s ambitions and dedication when it comes to readying himself for the biggest stage once more, but at this stage it is reasonable to ask whether his body will ever play ball.
The timing of this latest crushing blow also coincides with England’s brightest white-ball stars having the prospect of maximum earnings for a reduced workload floated in their direction.
A report by the Daily Mail claimed Archer was one of the players being eyed for a year-round IPL dealw that would take players out of the ECB’s central contract system and see their franchises control their workloads.
If Archer is ruled out of England’s World Cup defence later this year as well as the Ashes, it is easy to make the argument that his long-term interests would be best served by such an arrangement once he returns to action.
For his part, England Test coach Brendon McCullum is relaxed about the situation.
“The last few years, there’s been a shifting of the sand somewhat around international cricket,” he told SENZ Radio in New Zealand.
“We’d be completely naive to think that players would turn down huge amounts of money on long-term contracts for a lot less work in these T20 leagues because they should be playing international cricket. Those days are fast approaching to be over. It’s definitely a shifting landscape and you’ve just got to be fluid.
“What you’ve got to do is you’ve got to work with these players, you got to work with these leagues and try and allow ideally players to have their cake and eat it too because you want your best players playing.”
Who will replace Jofra Archer in the Ashes?
England are not short of high-class seam bowling options, with all-time greats Broad and James Anderson primed for possibly their last shot at the old enemy, although Anderson is nursing a minor groin injury.
Ollie Robinson has thrived since his return to the side last year and lies sixth in the ICC’s Test bowling rankings, while Matthew Potts is in fine form for Durham and ready to build on his breakthrough international summer of 2022.
Woakes is also back in the Test fold for the Ireland game but, in terms of raw pace, Mark Wood is the only show in town.
Olly Stone is laid low with a hamstring injury, the latest instalment in a tale of injury woe comparable to Archer’s. Saqib Mahmood recently returned to action for Lancashire after his own stress fracture to the lower back.
