Jofra Archer should not be rushed back into international cricket, Ben Stokes warns about previous mistake

Jofra Archer should not be fast-tracked into the national side, feels England Test captain Ben Stokes. Archer returned to cricketing action in an intra squad match ahead of England’s Test series vs Pakistan.

File photo of Jofra Archer bowling vs India in 2021. (Courtesy: Reuters)

By India Today Web Desk: England should not commit the same mistake with Jofra Archer which ruled him out for an extended period of time, feels Test team captain Ben Stokes. Archer, who saw some cricketing action after a long layover of 18 months, bowled well in the intra squad match ahead of England’s tour against Pakistan.

On Thursday, 24 November Archer said he was “fully back” from his long injury lay-off, adding that he was targeting a spot in the England team for the Ashes, which will take place on home soil in June.

“He’s one of the superstars of the international game and it’s great to see him running back in, bowling fast and it’s really good to have him back around the group as well,” Stokes told English broadcaster Sky Sports.

“I think he’s just really excited to be back. He’s obviously had a long time off with injury and as exciting as it is we’ve got to be careful not to rush him back as we don’t want to see Jofra Archer on the sidelines for this amount of (time) again,” he added.

Archer’s workload was questioned after the 2019 World Cup when first reports emerged of his elbow issues. Archer was rested and the brought back into the side, which later saw he getting ruled out due to injury and then getting a surgery done.

England were without the services of Archer and were hammered by Australia in the 2021/22 Ashes series, where they managed to draw just one game. The series loss boiled into Joe Root getting sacked from captaincy and a series of other changes in the English cricketing structure.

The team was taken over by Ben Stokes, who brough in a new, attacking brand of cricket under the coaching of Brendon McCullum.

“That’s the plan, hopefully we can have Jofra fit and ready especially for the Ashes,” Stokes gave his timeline.

England’s first Test match starts on December 1 at the Rawalpindi Stadium.