Jofra Archer: All eyes will be on Jofra Archer when England announce the provisional squad for the World Cup 2023 tomorrow. The England pacer who missed the IPL 2023 and The Hundred due to recurrence of stress fracture in his right elbow is in the scheme of things to make a comeback during the World Cup.
England white-ball coach Matthew Mott said he is ready to risk the pace sensation for the showpiece event despite no match fitness. Archer was also spotted with Mumbai Indians player Nehal Wadhera in London.
“There is a high chance that we will take a risk on a proven performer [like Archer] that has done it on the world stage. We are planning for him to be available. Obviously, a lot of things have to go his way, and it will be a tight timeline, but with players like that you are going to give them every opportunity to prove their fitness, and so we will keep an open mind,” Mott said as quoted by Daily Mail.
For the uninitiated, the 29-year-old first made a comeback in 2023 during the ODI series against South Africa, he also showed full match fitness by picking up six wickets and clocking in excess of 145. However, during IPL 2023 season, Archer’s elbow issues flared up again, and he yet again underwent surgery. But despite all that, Mott feels the speedster will be an X-factor player during the World Cup.
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Jofra Archer: Matthew Mott keen to use Archer in crucial matches during World Cup
With England playing nine league matches during the World Cup in India, Mott stated that he and skipper Jos Butter are keen to use him in crucial matches. The former Australia coach opines that pace would be a crucial element on flat Indian pitches. Mott is also keen to take a cue from Brendon McCullum on the way he used Mark Wood during Ashes 2023.
“It would be a big ask for him to play every game, so we would have to target specific ones, but we are big on ball speed for India, we feel like that’s a really important asset for us to have out there and it will be good to see Mark Wood, who had such an impact in the Ashes, do the same with the white ball,” Mott added.
Thursday, October 5: England v New Zealand (Ahmedabad), 2 pm
Tuesday, October 10: England v Bangladesh (Dharamsala), 10:30 am
Sunday, October 15: England v Afghanistan (Delhi), 2 pm
Saturday, October 21: England v South Africa (Mumbai), 2 pm
Thursday, October 26: England v Sri Lanka (Bengaluru), 2 pm
Sunday, October 29: India v England (Lucknow), 2 pm
Saturday, November 4: England v Australia (Ahmedabad), 2 pm
Wednesday, November 8: England v Netherlands (Pune), 2 pm
Saturday, November 11: England v Pakistan (Kolkata), 2 pm