Jofra Archer will play an international game for England for the first time in nearly four years on Wednesday night, ending a 382-day wait since he made his senior appearance. Jos Buttler, the England captain, said Archer was “desperate” to return after a long injury layoff and confirmed that he will play against Pakistan at Headingley if the weather permits.
England named Archer in their provisional 15-man squad for the T20 World Cup in June, which they must conclude against the ICC on Saturday. He bowled well in the nets on Monday – including against Buttler – and had a light practice session on Tuesday, awaiting his return on Wednesday night.
“He’s got a big smile on his face,” Buttler said. “It’s great to see him back healthy and throwing fast, and back in the team. I know he missed that. [Facing him] it’s never been so fun, but she looks great.
“You have to manage expectations. He’s been out of international cricket for a long time, and you can’t repeat that. We all know what a professional he was, but manage expectations: don’t expect too much too soon. He’s so talented that he’ll always do well, but [he needs to] just enjoy playing cricket. As England captain and as a fan, people want to see him enjoying his cricket.”
Buttler confirmed that Archer will play on Wednesday night – if the rain doesn’t stop – and said England will “manage” him in the four-match series. “You are healthy, and the medical team will advise you on the best way to handle it,” he said. “[He’ll play] as many as possible: he has missed a lot of cricket and wants to get back out there and be a big part of the team.
“Any player of Jofra’s caliber is a huge asset to any team. He certainly makes us a better side as well [gives us] better chance to win games. But we should temper our expectations, not put too much pressure on him, let him relax. The biggest success will be the one who comes to this series with a big smile on his face and his body holding on. That would be a success for me.”
Babar Azam, the captain of Pakistan, said that his team is looking forward to the challenge of facing Archer but is not afraid of him. “As a team, we are very excited to play Archer,” said Babar. “We have that pace of bowlers: Haris Rauf, [Mohammad] Amir, Shaheen [Afridi]. We face it every day. That’s not the case [feeling] fear; we are happy.”
Harry Brook will return to international cricket on Wednesday, after missing England’s Test tour to India on compassionate leave. “He’s got a great head on his shoulders,” Buttler said. “He can handle a lot of things… when you watch him bat, he looks very emotional and he will be an England player in every way for a long time.”
Matthew Mott, the England head coach, was in charge of training in Leeds on Tuesday after missing Monday’s session due to family reasons. While the games over the next nine days will be more important than the results, his side have not won a T20I series since becoming world champions in Australia 18 months ago and will be looking for a breakthrough in this round.
Mott and Buttler were both under pressure during England’s group stage exit from the 50-over World Cup last year and are unable to play again in the Caribbean. Buttler said he learned important lessons in India: “Sometimes, when results don’t go your way, it’s easy – as an individual, or a group – to go inside a little bit. [You should] keep putting the team first at all times, and make decisions based on that.”
But he said England will not focus too much on their 50-over campaign in the coming weeks. “It’s a different format. Times go on: there are different chapters in the book. It’s really a privilege to go to another World Cup again as the defending champions, but it also feels like a new era. There are guys coming into the side who are stable players and they deserve it now. It’s their team that has to go forward.
Buttler comes into this series after hitting two hundreds in three innings in the IPL last month, and said he is “in a really good spot” with his batting. In Paarl’s 22 innings with Rajasthan Royals this year, he averaged 40.36 while striking 142.30: “Sometimes, I feel like I’m a victim of expectations,” he said.
He has also confirmed that he will keep wicket in the series, but is likely to hand over the gloves to Phil Salt at least once as his wife Louise is expecting the couple’s third child soon. “My family comes first: I will be born,” he said. “I’m not a doctor. These things can happen at any time. But I have a plan… fingers crossed, everything will be fine.”
