Jofra Archer Return After Long Injury: England cricket board announced a 14-men squad for the ODI series against South Africa next month. There are one name South African players, especially batters, won’t be very happy to face is of Jofra Archer, who played his last game for England in March 2021 on his side’s tour of India and is now all set to make life hell for the opponent batters.
Few players in cricket history didn’t get to play many matches regardless of the talent and danger they used to possess for the opponents because of injuries. Unfortunately, Jofra Archer is one of them. He gained much attention as soon as he made his international debut due to his unbelievable pace, dangerous bouncing ability and aggression.
However, after a brilliant start and introduction to the world, he couldn’t go long after that, as his previous few years got plagued by a long-standing elbow injury and stress fracture of the lower back, with the former requiring two bouts of surgery and latter ruling him out of the whole home summer this year.
After being absent for almost two years, he made his appearance in the set-up as he trained with the England Lions in the UAE last month, where he played a warm-up game as well against the English Test squad and hit Zak Crawley on the head with his trademark sharp bouncer in his very first over.
Jofra Archer Return After Long Injury, Joe Root Out, England ODI Squad For South Africa Series:
He spoke to the media that day after the day concluded, where he described his return with “a small but a big day” phrase and admitted he still needs time to be in his best shape to represent England:
“I’d rather take these last few months very seriously, more serious than probably all of the rehab, because once this phase goes right, then it can set me up for the next three to four years injury-free. That’s the goal right now.”
After playing a warm-up game, he is set to play two matches for MI Cape Town in the new South Africa domestic league, named SA20, which is all set to start in January, with England series also to take place in the same month where he will represent his nation for the first time after two years.
ECB (England Cricket Board) announced the following England ODI Squad For South Africa Series:
Jos Buttler (c), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Ben Duckett, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Jason Roy, Phil Salt, Olly Stone, Reece Topley, David Willey, Chris Woakes
Talking about the squad, after making his debut in T20Is and then in Tests this year, Harry Brook has been given a chance to make his ODI debut as well. He earned his call by scoring 468 runs in five innings of three-match Test series against Pakistan at an average of 93.60, including three centuries in five innings.
Another name worth mentioning is Ben Duckett, who earned his first ODI call after 2016 by performing consistently in both T20I and Test series against Pakistan. He was the second top scorer in the latter format, with 357 runs at an average of 71.40.
Moreover, Reece Topley is included after almost wholly recovering from his ankle injury. He suffered a freak injury after he tripped on a boundary marker while playing for the national team in T20 World Cup in Australia last month
Jofra Archer Return After Long Injury, Joe Root Out, England ODI Squad For South Africa Series:
If we talk about the absent players, Joe Root and Mark Wood have been rested, with the latter all set to play ILT20 League next month for Dubai Capitals. However, Liam Livingstone is also not included as he is recovering from the knee injury, he suffered during the first Test against Pakistan earlier this month.
There is no place for Surrey’s Will Jacks, who made his Test debut in the exact match and claimed six first-innings wickets, nor for James Vince and Sam Billings, who played in England’s most recent ODI series against Australia in November.
