Jofra Archer has stepped up his recovery from injury by playing for his old school team in the Barbados Cricket Association’s second tier – without telling anyone at the England and Wales Cricket Board that he was doing so.
As a centrally contracted player Archer’s schedule should be controlled by the ECB, and he has been blocked from playing in the Indian Premier League next year to prioritise his recovery from a long‑term, recurring problem with his right elbow. But on Sunday the 28-year-old played for Christ Church Foundation against Lords, taking four for 18 – three with his right-arm seam and one with the left-arm spin that he often wheels out in training sessions – as Lords were bowled out for 114. It is a three-day game, which is paused for the rest of the working week before concluding this weekend, but Archer returned to the UK on Sunday night and is not expected to play any further part.
Archer was raised in Barbados before moving to England in 2015 when he was 20. He has been recovering in the country since aggravating the injury during a brief trip to India in October to join the World Cup squad, and on Friday took part in training with the England team who are in Barbados during a white-ball tour.
Asked on Monday whether he knew of Archer’s participation in the club match, Rob Key, England’s managing director of men’s cricket, said: “I’m not aware of that.” Talking of Archer’s potential participation in the IPL, Key said: “Jofra was keen to go into the auction but we just feel like, actually, the best way to do this now is just for us to be in control of it. If it takes an extra couple of months but he gets another couple of years out of his career and gets back fully, I think it’s worth it.”
Andrew Flintoff arrived in Barbados over the weekend and took part in training for the first time on Monday. He will be part of England’s coaching team for the five-game Twenty20 series against West Indies that starts on Tuesday in Barbados and concludes in Trinidad on 21 December.
