England bowler Jofra Archer admits he may not be able to cope with any fresh injury problems, revealing “I don’t know if I have another stop-start year in me”.
Archer has been plagued by a litany of fitness problems since bursting on to the international scene in 2019 but is on the comeback trail with hopes of featuring in June’s T20 World Cup in the United States of America and his native Caribbean.
The seamer is not yet certain if he will make the tournament, having last played competitively 11 months ago following a repeat stress fracture in his right elbow, but insists avoiding further setbacks is crucial.
The mental and physical toll has been considerable on Archer and he accepts another breakdown could be one too far.
“It’s been a while and honestly, I don’t know if I’ve got another stop-start year in me. That’s the truth, I don’t know if I’ve got another one,” he told the 4Cast’s Athlete’s Voice podcast.
“I haven’t played cricket for a whole 12 months as yet. Last year I played from January to May. I think the year before that, I played maybe one or two games for Sussex, so you know I’ve had a whole year of nothing.”
England are taking a cautious approach with his latest return, taking an early decision to withdraw him from the Indian Premier League and pre-emptively ruling him out of the rigours of Test cricket until next year.
Instead they hope to unleash him in familiar territory in the West Indies, where they will look to defend their 20-over crown.
He shares that ambition but is refusing to count on it.
“Come the first game in June I really do want to be in the team. The last two years have been really stop-start, so I just think that, you know, everyone’s going to just take it a bit easy,” he said.
“If I’m ready then fine, happy days, but if I’m not they’re still supporting me. Worst-case scenario, I don’t really want to think about this, but even if I don’t make it to the World Cup for whatever reason, there’s still the T20 Blast, there’s still The Hundred.
“There’s still cricket that I haven’t got a chance to play in the last couple of years, so as much as I want to play in the World Cup, if it doesn’t happen for whatever reason, at least I still know I could be somewhat active.”
And if Archer does manage to pull an England shirt back on during their visit to his home island of Barbados, he is expecting to see some friendly faces in the crowd.
“I know it’s not dog friendly in the Caribbean as much as it is here in the UK, but I’d love my family and my dogs at that first game back,” he added.
Rovman Powell powers Delhi Bulls to victory over Ajman Bolts in Abu Dhabi T10
Rovman Powell delivered a scintillating match-winning performance to lead the Delhi Bulls to a commanding 35-run victory over the Ajman Bolts in the Abu Dhabi T10 on Sunday.
The Bulls, batting first, posted an imposing 126-5 in their 10 overs, with Powell smashing a breathtaking 58 off just 22 balls. His explosive knock included four fours and five towering sixes, propelling the team to a formidable total. Powell was well-supported by Tim David, who hammered 29 off 13 balls with four sixes, and James Vince, who chipped in with 22 from 14 balls.
James Neesham was the pick of the bowlers for the Ajman Bolts, claiming 2-22, but he received little support as the Bulls capitalized on every scoring opportunity.
In their chase, the Ajman Bolts were stifled by disciplined bowling from the Delhi Bulls. Gulbadin Naib (22) and Shehan Jayasuriya (21) tried to build momentum, but the Bolts fell well short, managing only 91-6 in their 10 overs. Shahid Butta led the Bulls’ attack with an impressive 3-24, while Mohammad Rohid returned excellent figures of 2-10 to seal the victory.
Powell’s match-winning knock and the Bulls’ clinical bowling ensured a comprehensive win, keeping their Abu Dhabi T10 campaign firmly on track.
Jaiswal, Kohli tons put India on the verge of win against Australia
Yashasvi Jaiswal and Virat Kohli bagged magnificent centuries to put India in a commanding position on day three of their first Test match against Australia in Perth.
India declared in a dominant position of 487-6 after Jaiswal (161) built on their 172-0 at stumps on day two and former captain Kohli (100 not out) added quick runs with his first century in 16 months coming up during the final hour.
The tourists then wreaked havoc with the ball in five overs before stumps as captain Jasprit Bumrah dismissed debutant Nathan McSweeney (zero) and Marnus Labuschagne (three) before nightwatchman Cummins (two) fell to Mohammed Siraj with the score at 12, as the hosts trail by 521 runs with seven wickets in hand.
Earlier in the Test, India had scored 150 batting first before bundling out Australia for 104 in the first innings.
Jaiswal resumed his innings at 90 on the third day and brought up his century in the first hour before KL Rahul departed for 77 after an opening-wicket partnership of 201.
The centurion fell as India's third wicket at 313-3 as Australia picked up three wickets in the space of eight runs, but Kohli reached his ton with help from Washington Sundar (29) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (38 not out) as India asserted their dominance.
CG United Super50 Cup final between Scorpions, Pride abandoned due to inclement weather
The CG United Super50 final between the Jamaica Scorpions and the Barbados Pride was abandoned without a ball being bowled due to the inclement weather at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy on Saturday.
Barbados Pride, with six titles plus one shared, were hoping to break a mini drought having last won in 2016-17, while Jamaica, with eight titles plus one shared, had ambitions to get back to the summit as their last title was in the 2022-23 season.
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