Former England fast bowler Steve Harmison feels England shouldn’t take Jofra Archer to India for the 2023 World Cup in order to not harm his career in the long term.
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Archer, who is recovering from a stress fracture of the elbow that was revealed during the IPL earlier this year, has not been named in England’s provisional squad for the World Cup. However, there’s a good chance that he will fly to India as one of the travelling reserves.
Luke Wright, England selector, said they were desperate to get him into the squad, but the timeline of his recovery meant that he would not be ready for the first half of the tournament. However, if presented with an opportunity, there might be a chance for Archer to feature in the back end of the tournament.
“Is there an opportunity or a place where potentially he could play at the back-end of the tournament if all things go well and there was an injury? Yes, there’s a potential chance. But obviously, a lot of things have still got to go right with this rehab before then,” said Wright.
Archer was England’s highest wicket-taker in the 2019 World Cup and etched himself into folklore by bowling the super over in the final to take England to their first-ever men’s ODI World Cup victory. It is clear why England want to provide him with every opportunity to make a mark in the World Cup.
Steve Harmison, however, feels that they should refrain from rushing Archer back in, especially for a high-profile tournament like the World Cup. Speaking to iNews, Harmison said, “Getting back on the field during a World Cup is just asking too much of somebody who has been out for such a long time. I don’t think it’s fair on him. I think there’s a human element to it.”
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He said England should find a way for Archer to ease into cricket elsewhere, and not jump straight into the World Cup: “I say this purely from Jofra’s point of view, England shouldn’t even be looking at him (for the World Cup). I think it might be a little bit cruel. I wouldn’t even take him. I think Jofra needs to find a way back into cricket, possibly away from England, just go and enjoy getting back on the field again.”
Archer has had a long history of injuries and has played less than 50 international matches across formats despite making his debut four years back. Harmison touched upon the point and said that rushing him back in for the World Cup might lead to some other injury and will hamper his long-term prospects.
“This lad has been through the ringer for such a long time and I think just give him a break and let him ease back into cricket. England have decided they’re going to try and do that (take him as a travelling reserve) and I hope for Jofra’s sake he doesn’t get thrown into the heat of the battle.
“It won’t be his elbow this time, it’ll be some other part of his body that breaks down if he’s asking his body to do something it hasn’t done for quite some time, no matter how much training you’ve done. When you’re in the middle, it’s completely different to bowling in the nets so I’d like to think England can get through this whole World Cup without him.”
