England white-ball head coach Matthew Mott expects "box office" fast bowler Jofra Archer will be back to his best in time for this year's Ashes and Cricket World Cup.
Archer returned for England against South Africa in January after spending just under two years out of action with elbow and back problems.
The 27-year-old managed just one wicket for 81 runs in his first game back but, after being rested for the second ODI, he took 6-40 in the final match of England's 2-1 series loss.
With five wickets to his name across two appearances on England's tour of Bangladesh, Mott is pleased with Archer's progress but believes there is still more to come.
"He's a box office player," Mott said. "He's fitted back into the group beautifully and it's an incredible effort for a fast bowler to be out for that long and come back and play as he has.
"He would admit that he's not fully firing on all cylinders. You can just see he's ticking all the boxes to get back to his best.
"He just seems to be really slowly, strategically making sure he's doing it right and ticking over and come the Ashes, come the World Cup, I'm sure you'll see him back to his best."
Wednesday will mark 100 days until the start of England's Ashes series with Australia, while the World Cup gets under way four months later in India.
Mott was again asked whether Ben Stokes will compete at the World Cup, with the all-rounder recently suggesting he may consider reversing his decision to end his 50-over international career.
"I'm still in touch with him but the issue about when he wants to play, we don't need to know for a while," Mott said.
"The worst thing we could do is try to put pressure on him early to make a decision. We'll just see how his body's holding up and how he's feeling physically and mentally."
On this day 2011: England’s Matt Prior reprimanded over smashed window at Lord’s
England wicketkeeper Matt Prior was reprimanded by the International Cricket Council after a window was smashed in the dressing room at Lord’s, on this day in 2011.
Prior’s angry reaction came after he was run out on the final day of the second Test against Sri Lanka leading to a window in the dressing room being shattered, with a spectator in the members’ area suffering minor cuts from the broken glass.
Prior returned to the pavilion in England’s attempt to set up a declaration on 335 for seven when the incident took place.
The England and Wales Cricket Board were quick to respond that the incident was purely accidental and Prior had apologised to the spectator, but the ICC later opted to sanction him.
Level one offences can be punished by a fine of 50 per cent of a player’s match fee, but Prior’s acceptance of the charge meant the punishment did not go any further beyond the reprimand.
A statement from the ICC read: “England wicketkeeper Matt Prior has been reprimanded for breaching the ICC code of conduct during his team’s Test match against Sri Lanka at Lord’s.
“Prior accepted the Level 1 charge and the proposed sanction from Javagal Srinath of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees after an incident where a window was broken in the England team dressing room.
“He was found to have breached clause 2.1.2 of the code which relates to ‘abuse of cricket equipment or clothing, ground equipment or fixtures and fittings during an international match’.
“The charge was brought by on-field umpires Billy Doctrove and Rod Tucker as well as third umpire Aleem Dar and fourth official Richard Illingworth.”
Moeen Ali agrees to come out of retirement to join England’s Ashes squad
Moeen Ali has answered England’s Ashes call, reversing his retirement from Test cricket for one last mission against Australia.
England’s plans for the series were derailed by a stress fracture to first-choice spinner Jack Leach but Moeen has agreed to return to red-ball cricket for the first time in almost two years to fill the breach.
The 35-year-old was invited to join the squad at the start of the week and, after taking a couple of days to ponder his decision, has now agreed to join up with the team.
England did have other options, including 18-year-old Rehan Ahmed, who became England’s youngest Test cricketer when he debuted in Karachi in December, and Surrey’s Will Jacks but none with the experience and credentials of Moeen.
He has 64 Test caps, 195 wickets and the small matter of five Test centuries. With Jonny Bairstow slotting back into the side at number seven following his return from a broken leg, Moeen is likely to bat at eight and give the home side a seriously dangerous lower order.
The Ashes begins at Moeen’s home ground of Edgbaston on July 16, with the all-rounder due to turn 36 on day three.
Rob Key, England’s managing director of men’s cricket, was involved in discussions alongside head coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes and explained: “We reached out to Mo early this week about returning to Test cricket. Having had a couple of days to reflect, Mo is excited to join the squad and play Test cricket again.
“His vast experience, along with his all-round ability, will benefit our Ashes campaign. We wish Mo and the rest of the squad well for the Ashes campaign.”
McCullum previously tried to tempt Moeen back into the fray for the historic tour of Pakistan but, after initially declaring himself open to the idea, Moeen ultimately decided to stick to limited-overs cricket.
Speaking at the time, Moeen concluded: “I want to enjoy my cricket and it wouldn’t be fair to reverse my decision and then struggle to give it my all. It’s time to close the door on that side of my career. To play 64 Tests for England has been a privilege and a dream fulfilled.”
He has now been persuaded to take the field again, warming to the idea of turning out for Stokes and McCullum. They have overhauled the way England play the game, prioritising an attacking, proactive style that fits Moeen’s own approach like a glove.
Australia have proved thorny opponents for Moeen in the past, with his career bowling average climbing from 36.66 to 64.65 in Ashes cricket, but he is ready to embrace unfinished business against England’s biggest rivals.
He will need to get back to grips with the red Dukes ball after dedicating himself to the white-ball formats since September 2021, and will work alongside spin coach Jeetan Patel in the run-up to the series opener in Birmingham.
Stuart Broad hopeful Andy Flower does not reveal England secrets to Australia
Stuart Broad is crossing his fingers that Andy Flower “doesn’t give away too many secrets” after the former England coach crossed the Ashes divide to link up with Australia.
The Zimbabwean led England for five years between 2009 and 2014, taking the Test team to number one in the world and winning the urn on three occasions including an unforgettable victory Down Under in 2010/11.
He remained with the England and Wales Cricket Board in a variety of roles – including Lions coach, selector and interim director of cricket – before finally departing in 2019 to work as a freelance consultant coach.
The 55-year-old, who won last year’s Hundred with Trent Rockets, was spotted at Australia’s training session on Monday, helping them prepare for English conditions in this week’s World Test Championship final against India. It has also been confirmed that he will return during the Ashes series to work with the team.
Broad, who played much of his formative international cricket under Flower, accepts the appointment will be of some assistance to the tourists but pointed out that the current regime of Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes had changed things up significantly since he was last inside the dressing room.
“What’s he doing working for Australia? I didn’t know that,” he told the PA news agency at an event with new England sponsors Laithwaites.
“Andy is someone I learned a lot from early on in my career, he taught me a lot about how to stand up to the battle of Test match cricket. I really enjoyed working under him and winning Ashes series under him. He did a lot for English cricket in his time with Andrew Strauss as captain.
“Hopefully he doesn’t give away too many secrets! But the game has changed a lot in the last 12 months…I don’t think anyone knows any secrets on the way Brendon and Stokesy operate with this team. He’ll bring a lot of experience of Test grounds here and how the pitches play, I just hope he doesn’t share them.”
Australia captain Pat Cummins welcomed Flower’s involvement as a source of information ahead of the series.
“He’ll dip in and out, it’s a different voice,” he told reporters.
“He knows these conditions really well, hopefully knows the opposition. If he can give us one little bit of insight into playing in England that we haven’t thought about, then it’s worth it. We’re pretty lucky to have someone as experienced as Andy.”
England have no real cause for complaint, having imported their fair share of overseas coaches over the years. Australian David Saker is currently back in the England set-up as fast bowling coach for a second stint, having held the same role with the Baggy Greens in between.
“Sakesy knows a lot about the Aussie guys, he has a lot of respect the Australia players, but we’ve got players in our changing room who know more than the coaches with the amount we’ve played against them – Stokesy, Rooty, Jimmy Anderson and myself to name a few,” Broad added.
“There’s enough detail out there for everyone to know what’s going on.”
:: Stuart Broad was speaking at the launch of wine merchant Laithwaites’ partnership with England Cricket. For exclusive offers on great wines this summer, visit laithwaites.co.uk.
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