England coach Trevor Bayliss has admitted that England are still considering whether or not to parachute Jofra Archer straight into their World Cup squad.
A change in the ECB eligibility rules in November meant that Archer is due to complete his residency period before this year’s flagship one-day tournament. He did not qualify for England selection prior to their current tour of the Caribbean, meaning they could not give him any international game-time prior to announcing their final 15-man World Cup squad in April.
[breakout id=”1″][/breakout]Speaking to Sky Sports, Bayliss admitted that Archer is still under consideration despite his lack of international and 50-over – he has only played 14 List A matches in his career – experience. The decision over Archer is a tough one given how consistent England have been with selection since the 2015 World Cup. In the last three years, only 17 players have played five or more ODIs for England compared to 29 and 25 for Australia and India respectively.
Even by Jofra Archer's standards, this is an outrageous catch.pic.twitter.com/EzHVZxXAwp
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) January 29, 2019
“I’d say, very close. We’ve pretty much had the same 15, 16 or 17 players over the last three or four years,” said Bayliss.
“We could probably name a 15, there’s a Jofra Archer decision to be made at a later date. I think it’s getting down to that being the final piece of the jigsaw.”
England are currently level in their five-match ODI series against West Indies after the third ODI was a washout in Grenada. Bayliss has said that he’s planning on using the final two fixtures as a chance to have a closer look at some players who are not guaranteed of a place in the final 15-man squad.
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“It’s been a bit of a juggling act. We want to have a look at one or two of the fringe guys as well. More than anything, just to give them a bit of a run out.
“I think the team that wins the World Cup will play a squad of players and whoever has got the strongest squad will go close to winning it. So we want to make sure some of our fringe players have played matches as well.”
The fourth match of the Windies-England series takes place tomorrow in Grenada.
