Jofra Archer: Why the latest injury to England's 'generational talent' is the 'cruellest of blows'
- Published
Fast bowler Jofra Archer has not played a Test for England since February 2021
It would take the flintiest heart not to feel for Jofra Archer.
His latest demoralising injury blow - ruled out of the entire home summer with a recurrence of the stress fracture in his right elbow - is surely the cruellest.
However fanciful it was - and it was highly fanciful - that Archer would feature in the Ashes, the dreams of England supporters were fuelled by what the fast bowler is (or was) capable of.
Archer is a generational talent. His arrival on the international stage in 2019 was the most exciting by an England player since Kevin Pietersen.
In terms of bowlers, it is hard to think of any new England star that got the pulse racing quite like Jofra.
Archer was trusted to bowl a super over for the ages in the World Cup final and then, on Test debut, produced a knockout bouncer to floor Steve Smith in a passage of Test cricket equally as compelling as Andrew Flintoff's famous Ashes over at Edgbaston in 2005.
After a diet of almost exclusively (and some very talented) fast-medium bowlers, English cricket was dining at Archer's banquet. He was the promised land.
Archer's elbow problem first emerged seven months after he made his England debut, in early 2020. Multiple surgeries and a stress fracture in his back have allowed Archer to play only 27 of England's 136 matches across formats since the beginning of that year.
Following his longest England lay-off of 22 months, Archer was able to play some white-ball internationals at the beginning of this year. He touched 95mph in the Indian Premier League for Mumbai Indians, but news of further elbow discomfort raised the alarm.
By then, it was starting to feel increasingly unlikely Archer would take any part in the Test summer, despite England making positive noises. Was a bowler who had not played any first-class cricket since 2021 really going to return in the heat of an Ashes battle?
An early exit from the IPL raised fears and a press release on Tuesday morning realised the worst of them. This will be Archer's second consecutive year without any first-team cricket in this country.
There are all sorts of galling aspects to Archer's injury nightmare. He has only ever played four home Tests in front of a crowd - the rest of his 13 caps came either away or in the spectatorless bubble summer of 2020.
He has missed two T20 World Cups, one of which England won. He will now sit out a second consecutive Ashes series, and the World Cup in India in October and November must be a huge doubt.
Even before this latest setback there were genuine concerns over whether he would be able to play Test cricket again. Now it has to be distinct possibility. The hope will be that Archer can one day again pull on an England shirt of any kind.
"He is desperate to play all forms and I hope he gets the chance to do that," said England managing director Rob Key.
"It is a taxing road he has to go down to get this sorted, but I'm sure we'll see him back at some point."
Archer has played 13 Tests, 19 one-day internationals and 12 Twenty20s for England
Key drew a comparison with Australia captain Pat Cummins, whose back injuries forced him to wait more than five years between caps after he made his Test debut in 2011.
The key difference was that Cummins made his return as a 24-year-old. Archer is already 28.
"Jofra is like a Formula 1 car," said Key. "You just think you are getting to the point where he can come back and there's another setback.
"You just hope his body will get robust enough to be able to deal with the rigours of anything."
For now, England must move on without him, but it is worth remembering that their impressive recent run of 10 wins from 12 Tests has been done largely without an express pace bowler in the side - Mark Wood has played only two of those matches.
There has been a spate of injuries to fast bowlers at the beginning of the summer, but those have struck those who haven't been available anyway, like Archer, and back-up options like Olly Stone and Jamie Overton.
Just on Tuesday, James Anderson told the Tailenders podcast he is not worried about the groin injury he picked up playing for Lancashire. He has been named in the squad for the Test against Ireland along with Aussie-hunter Stuart Broad.
At the ages of 40 and 36 respectively, the injuries to Archer are further reason to marvel at the longevity of the two England greats.
Ollie Robinson is the anointed heir to Anderson and Broad, the first-choice trio supplemented by bursts of Wood, Matthew Potts following his impressive first year in Test cricket and the return of Chris Woakes, whose average in England is bettered by few.
Captain Ben Stokes has spoken of his desire to have eight fast bowlers to choose from for the Ashes.
On the subject of England's pace-bowling depth, Key mentioned Durham's Brydon Carse (who himself is injured) and Josh Tongue of Worcestershire. Saqib Mahmood is back playing after a long lay-off.
Archer being Archer, his superstar qualities mean news of this latest long absence will grab headlines, but the reality is he has not been a Test cricketer for more than two years.
Still, that will not stop us from feeling his pain, wondering what might have been and wishing for one more rapid spell of bowling.
Right now, the return of a fit and firing Jofra Archer to any sort of cricket should be the hope for us all.
