Jofra Archer will pull on an England Test shirt once more on Thursday, ending a stop-start stretch that has kept him away from red-ball cricket since early 2021. The 29-year-old fast bowler has been named in the XI to face India at Lord’s, the same ground where he made a lively debut six summers ago.
England’s only change sees Archer come in for Josh Tongue. Tongue sits top of the series wicket list with 11 but has leaked runs at 4.56 an over and, by the management’s reckoning, needs a breather. Brydon Carse and Chris Woakes survive despite workloads of 77 and 81 overs respectively across the first two Tests.
Ben Stokes offered a brief health bulletin on Carse, who looked ginger during India’s second dig at Edgbaston. The captain brushed off fears: the problem was “his footwear rather than his feet themselves”, he said. That diagnosis and a clean bill from medical staff were enough to keep Carse in the side.
Gus Atkinson, still easing back from a hamstring strain picked up against Zimbabwe in May, will be released to Surrey for T20 duty. The paceman is eyeing the fourth Test in Manchester on 23 July. England initially thought the lay-off would be short; six weeks without competitive cricket tells a different story.
Archer’s own tale is well-documented. From the 13 Tests he played between 2019 and 2021 he bagged 42 wickets at 31.04, including 20 at 20.27 in that bruising 2019 Ashes. The numbers impressed; the workload less so. Then-captain Joe Root memorably urged him to “unleash a little bit more” after a 42-over slog on a sluggish Mount Maunganui pitch. Elbow and back injuries followed. White-ball gigs filled the void.
This summer England have tip-toed. Archer might have featured at Edgbaston had a freak thumb knock at the IPL not intervened. Instead he joined the squad for a week of nets, operating off a shortened run, watched closely by assistant coaches. According to Brendon McCullum he is “ready to go”.
The Sussex quick eased himself back into first-class action with 18 tidy overs last month. Selection chief Luke Wright said the spell wasn’t a fitness test as much as a ‘feel-good lap’. Nonetheless, it ticked a box. Archer now returns with a familiar brief: rough up India’s in-form top order. Six years ago it was Steven Smith turning heads; this time Shubman Gill arrives on the back of 430 Edgbaston runs.
Surface conditions remain a mild unknown. England have asked ground staff for “plenty of life”, yet Lord’s has been sluggish in recent seasons, often flattening out after day two. The home side are quietly confident Archer’s natural pace, allied with the slope, will break that trend.
Mark Wood joined practice on Wednesday, jogging through run-ups and checking a post-operation knee. A fifth-Test comeback seems the earliest realistic slot, but England’s brains trust still harbour visions of Archer-Wood in tandem for this winter’s Ashes.
Selection considerations aside, the batting remains untouched. Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett continue to open, while Ollie Pope, Joe Root and Harry Brook complete the top five. Jonny Bairstow keeps wicket; Stokes provides an all-rounder’s balance.
Short-form analyst Isa Guha believes Archer’s return offers more than raw pace. “He varies length cleverly and keeps energy in the field. Having that in the armoury lets Stokes rotate the seamers,” she noted on BBC radio. Former quick Steve Finn, meanwhile, sounded a note of caution: “Management of overs is key. You want Archer in Australia, so you cannot run him into the ground here.”
The immediate task, however, is to level the series. India’s 336-run thumping last week underlined the visitors’ dominance with both bat and ball. England know improvement is compulsory. A fit and firing Archer, even for short bursts, gives them a sharper edge.
Probable England XI
Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (capt), Jonny Bairstow (wk), Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, James Anderson.
Play starts at 11am on Thursday, weather permitting.
