Jofra Archer is in line to play his first Test in over four years after being named in England’s squad for the second Test against India at Edgbaston next week. His inclusion marks the only change to the squad that secured a five-wicket win at Headingley to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series. The second Test begins on Wednesday.
Archer recently returned to red-ball cricket for the first time since May 2021, representing Sussex in a County Championship match against Durham. He now joins a pool of six pace options for the upcoming Test, which includes Jamie Overton, Sam Cook, Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, and Josh Tongue.
Jofra Archer has been absent from England’s Test setup since the 2021 tour of India, where he earned his 13th and most recent cap in Ahmedabad. His career was disrupted by a recurring elbow injury followed by a stress fracture in his back, limiting him to just seven white-ball internationals between March 2021 and May 2024.
Jofra Archer Returns to First-Class Cricket, Calls Mental Adjustment the Biggest Challenge
Recently, Archer resumed consistent white-ball cricket and made his long-awaited return to the first-class format over the weekend at Chester-le-Street. Playing for Sussex against Durham, he bowled 18 overs and recorded figures of 1 for 32 in a drawn match. After Day 2, Archer admitted the toughest challenge would be adapting mentally to multi-day cricket.
“It felt okay today,” he shared. “I’ve been playing regularly for a year now and bowling for two, including the buildup, so everything’s going well.”
“Now it’s a different challenge, because I know my body can hold up to it. The mental part of the game [will be tough]. Over the next couple of days, I’m going to have to battle a bit with it, but it’s all good. It’s a new challenge, and I’ll keep trucking along.”
With the second and third Tests scheduled back-to-back at Edgbaston and Lord’s, England may rotate their bowling attack. Josh Tongue led at Headingley with 7 wickets, while Stokes claimed five and Carse four. Woakes, returning from injury, managed 1 for 148 but could improve with more game time.
England Men’s Test squad: Ben Stokes (capt), Brydon Carse, Sam Cook, Jamie Overton, Ollie Pope, Zak Crawley, Jofra Archer, Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Ben Duckett, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Josh Tongue, Chris Woakes
Get the latest cricket news here, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter and Instagram for more such updates.