England pacer Jofra Archer wants to play the upcoming T20 World Cup for England in front of his family in the West Indies but admits that the ‘stop-start’ year may ruin his chances. Archer has been plagued by many injuries for numerous years, preventing him from playing international cricket consistently. His last professional game was in May of last year, and he has been out of play since due to an elbow injury. Archer was chosen as the only travelling reserve for the 2023 World Cup. He also recently flew to India as part of Sussex’s pre-season tour, where he had a couple of good bowling performances. According to the ECB’s current plans, he will return to international cricket during England’s T20I series against Pakistan in May, just before the T20 World Cup.
He was also sidelined for much of 2021 and 2022 due to back and elbow injuries. “Last year, I played from January to May, because I did go to the IPL as well. And then the year before that, I played maybe one or two games for Sussex, so I’ve had a whole year of nothing …,” Archer told 4Cast’s ‘The Athlete’s Voice’ podcast on Wednesday.
“Hopefully, from June 1 to when June 1 comes next year, hopefully I’ve had no breaks… no injuries, and just constantly playing. “It’s been a while and honestly, I don’t know if I’ve got another stop-start year in me. That’s the truth, I don’t know if I’ve got another one.”
Earlier this month, Rob Key, executive director of the England men’s team, stated that the fast bowler might still compete in the World Cup in the West Indies and the United States, which begins on June 1. Archer stated he just wanted to get back to playing consistently, even if he did not make the World Cup roster.
“There’s still the T20 Blast, there’s still the Hundred,” Archer said. “There’s still cricket that I haven’t got a chance to play in the last couple of years. As much as I want to play in the World Cup, if it doesn’t happen for whatever reason, at least I still know I could be somewhat active as well.”