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England have been caught off guard by Jofra Archer returning from injury at the weekend, with the fast bowler taking four for 18 in the Barbados Cricket Association league.<\/p>\n
Archer joined England on the Caribbean island where he was born and raised and took part in some bowling drills on Friday as he continues his rehabilitation from the latest setback in his right elbow.<\/p>\n
It is understood he flew back to the UK on Sunday evening but not before turning out a few hours earlier for his old school side Foundation on day one of their three-day fixture against Lords in division one of the BCA league.<\/p>\n
But it seems he did so without England\u2019s knowledge as director of men\u2019s cricket Rob Key was surprised upon being informed of Archer\u2019s appearance in the second tier of Barbados\u2019 club structure.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not aware of that \u2013 I\u2019ll find out,\u201d said Key.<\/p>\n
A scorecard on the Barbados Cricket website lists Archer as the pick of the bowlers as Lords were bowled out for 114 at Church Hill.<\/p>\n
The Cricketer website reported one of his wickets was via left-arm spin, while he contributed 11 with the bat as Foundation went to stumps on 78 for eight. Days two and three will take place next weekend but Archer returning home looks likely to preclude his involvement for the remainder of the game.<\/p>\n
The 28-year-old\u2019s last professional appearance was in May, ruled out of the Ashes by a recurrence of a stress fracture in a right elbow that has caused persistent problems since his breakout year in 2019.<\/p>\n
More soreness meant he spent just three days in Mumbai after being named as England\u2019s only \u201ctravelling reserve\u201d for the World Cup but he was awarded a two-year central contract in October.<\/p>\n
\nIf it takes an extra couple of months, but he gets another couple of years out of his career and gets back fully – I think he’s worth his while in gold<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
England do not want to rush Archer back and have denied him permission to enter the Indian Premier League auction, with a view to easing him back, possibly for the 2024 T20 World Cup in June.<\/p>\n
\u201cJofra was bowling out here,\u201d Key added. \u201cAs you often see with Jofra, he rocks up, ends up bowling 95 miles an hour and he looks like he\u2019s an absolute genius.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut we\u2019re just going to take it slow with him. We don\u2019t want to put any sort of deadlines on him. That\u2019s what we\u2019ve done in the past, we\u2019re trying to learn from what we\u2019ve done in the past with Jofra.<\/p>\n
\u201cActually now we\u2019re taking control of him coming back. We\u2019re not going to say, \u2018you need to get back for this part here\u2019. From what they\u2019ve said, an elbow injury is a complicated place to have an injury.<\/p>\n
\u201cJofra was keen to go into the IPL auction but we just feel like the best way to do this now is just for us to be in control of it. There\u2019s no commitment either way, and we can then just bring you back.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf it takes an extra couple of months, but he gets another couple of years out of his career and gets back fully \u2013 I think he\u2019s worth his while in gold.\u201d<\/p>\n