Rob Key says England will not hesitate to hand Jofra Archer a Test recall, even though the fast bowler’s only red-ball outing in more than three years amounts to 18 overs for Sussex at Chester-le-Street last week.
The managing director believes Archer’s measured rehabilitation from elbow surgery and a back stress fracture has reached the point where match fitness, rather than medical caution, is now the main consideration. Archer is in England’s 15-man squad for next week’s second Test against India at Edgbaston and could just as easily be held back for Lord’s on 10 July. Either way, Key insists the 29-year-old is ready.
“To see him back will be brilliant,” Key said during a sponsorship event in London. “He’s an unbelievable talent, and it’s been such a long road. For two years now, [we’ve] mapped it out: from T20s and four-over spells, into 50-over cricket to build up his robustness, to now. He has been doing so much work in the lead-up – even when he’s not playing – to building up that resilience to being able to play, because he’s a serious talent.”
Archer last played Test cricket on the 2021 tour of India; England have completed 52 Tests in his absence. The intervening period has featured multiple operations, a back brace and, more recently, a broken thumb picked up at the IPL. Yet the right-armer returned to international white-ball duty last summer, bowling at full pace in both the T20 World Cup and February’s Champions Trophy. Eight tidy overs for 32 runs and the wicket of Emilio Gay on a docile Durham surface ticked the final box the medical staff wanted.
England’s innings win at Headingley gives the selectors leeway. Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse and Josh Tongue shared the heavy lifting there and may well be retained, especially with a nine-day gap before Edgbaston. Should that happen, Archer could be sent back to Sussex for a couple more Championship days against Warwickshire, an idea coach Paul Farbrace has already floated.
Key, who watched most of Archer’s spells on the live stream, is relaxed either way. “Jofra is such a talent,” he said. “He was straight on the money. Bowling on a slow pitch, with good pace. He ain’t gonna forget how to bowl, so when we have that call, we’re not concerned. He will be fit and available for both [Tests]. Whether he could play both, we’ll find that out afterwards, if he did play at Edgbaston.”
The managing director drew parallels with Mark Wood, another express quick who is sidelined but expected to be available for the final Test of the series. England have become adept at slotting bowlers in and out, trusting their medical data and the players’ own feel for their bodies. Archer’s economy and strike rate in limited-overs cricket since his comeback – he conceded barely seven an over in the Caribbean and struck every 25 balls in Pakistan – suggest the rhythm is intact.
There is still caution. Red-ball spells require longer bursts and recovery periods, and straight-line run-ups at training cannot completely replicate a Test match afternoon. But England’s management feel the deliberate rebuilding – four-over sprints in the Hundred, ten-over sets in 50-over internationals, regular gym strength blocks – has put Archer in the best place possible.
India, meanwhile, will note the potential change of pace. Their top order struggled once Woakes found swing in Leeds; Archer at 90-plus mph represents a different threat altogether. Key accepts that excitement but prefers understatement. “It’s simply good to have options,” he said. “We’ll pick what we think is the right side for the pitch and the series situation.”
Whether that means Archer charging in next Thursday or waiting another fortnight, England regard the hardest yards as done. A return that once felt distant is now, in Key’s understated assessment, “pretty close to the sweet spot”.
