After England pacer Jofra Archer said he felt ready to play his first Test match in four years against India after his return to County cricket. Still, former England captain Michael Vaughan feels otherwise and says Archer should not play in the 2nd Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy Test at Edgbaston, as his return to the national side should not be rushed.
“The good thing is that Jofra is back in the equation – but I’d like to see him play another four-day game. He’s not played the longer format for four years so why, on the back of one game for Sussex against Durham, would you rush him back?” said Vaughan, to the BBC.
“We know the intensity at Test-match level is so different to county cricket. Let him play another four-day game – I would go with the same line-up, as long as the bowlers are fine and there are no niggles,” he added.
Archer has not played a Test match since February 2021, and his last red-ball match ahead of this game was for Sussex in May 2021 after a series of injuries kept delaying his return. The ace pacer has since returned to international white-ball cricket for England, with his last appearance coming in the ICC Champions Trophy held in Pakistan earlier this year.
Archer finished with figures of 1-32 from 18 overs in Durham’s first innings, but Sussex head coach Paul Farbrace has urged England to “be careful” with the pacer. “He bowled with good pace, good accuracy and his body’s in good shape, which is fantastic,” Farbrace told BBC.
“We would all love to see Jofra playing for England because he makes England a much better team, and he would give them a much better chance of winning the big series. But let’s look after him, let’s be careful with him. The conversation we’d had [with England] was that he would play in this game, and then we’d reassess,” he added.
“All I will report back to them is that he bowled nicely, he looks like he’s in good rhythm, he’s bowled 18 overs and it’s up to them whether they pick him.”
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Archer is among many English quicks currently out through injury, with Mark Wood, Olly Stone and Gus Atkinson all currently unavailable. Wood said he is targeting the fifth India-England Test for his potential return from injury, while Archer could make his international return for the second India-England Test.
