England face dilemma over how to get Jofra Archer back to his 2019 best ahead of next year’s T20 World Cup… with the ECB vetoing his participation in the IPL after handing him a central contract worth £800k

• Jofra Archer has stepped up his recovery after he had suffered an elbow injury 
• The fast bowler secretly played for his old team in the Barbados second division 
• England recently handed him a central contract that is worth £800,000

England remain unclear about what to do with Jofra Archer as they focus on a return to playing schedule for their World Cup-winning fast bowler ahead of next June’s Twenty20 title defence.

Archer, 28, has stepped up his recovery from his latest elbow setback in the past five days by bowling at full pace in the nets here alongside his England team-mates and then secretly playing for his old school team in the Barbados Cricket Association’s second division.

Now, the dilemma for the ECB is to work out how best to ensure he is somewhere near his 2019 best for the Twenty20 World Cup here in the Caribbean in six months’ time.

Privately, however, Rob Key, England’s managing director, accepts there is no ideal route for preparing the fast bowler for the tournament until the four-match T20 series versus Pakistan on home soil, starting on May 22.

Having handed the Sussex star a lucrative two-year central contract worth £800,000 annually, the ECB have vetoed his participation in 2024’s Indian Premier League – running from late March to late May – to retain full control over his rehabilitation.

England are currently deliberating how they can get Jofra Archer back to his best ahead of the 2024 T20 World Cup 

Archer, pictured during the 2019 World Cup final, recently stepped up his recovery from an elbow setback

England managing director, Rob Key, accepts there is no ideal route for preparing the fast bowler

Ironically, that could mean him featuring in more low-key matches like last weekend’s for Christ Church Foundation against Lords, in which he took four for 18 – three with his right-arm seam and one masquerading as slow left-armer.

Given that they have blocked off a return to the IPL, it is highly unlikely if not impossible that Archer features in other franchise tournaments like the SA20 or ILT20 in the interim, and as he is expected to spend time back in his native Barbados before the start of the English county season, he could play more club cricket here – this time with the ECB’s blessing.

Key, in conjunction with the England coaching staff, believes that it would be counter-productive for Archer to increase his workload of bowling towards a first-class return until after the World Cup and so, with eight rounds of County Championship cricket opening the domestic 2024 season, he will not be involved with Sussex other than in pre-season work.

Archer secretly also played for his old school team in the Barbados Cricket Association’s second division

And the ECB are not overly concerned about a lack of available matches for their gifted, pace-bowling match winner, concentrating on getting him game-ready for delivering four overs at a time on a more gradual basis than during previous Archer comebacks.

Next summer’s Twenty20 Blast doesn’t begin until May 30, with the second XI competition that precedes it starting eight days earlier.

Archer travelled back to Hove on Sunday night hours after blindsiding his bosses, and is now understood ‘to be on the same page,’ as Key according to one ECB source, having avoided any form of disciplinary action.

Source: Read Full Article