It would take the faintest heart not to feel Jofra Archer.
As fanciful as it was – and it was very fanciful – that Archer would feature in the Ashes, England supporters’ dreams were fueled by what the fast bowler is (or was) capable of.
Archer is a generational talent. His arrival on the international scene in 2019 was the most exciting for an England player since Kevin Pietersen.
In terms of bowlers, it’s hard to think of a pulse-pounding New England star like Jofra.
Archer was trusted to throw a super over for the ages in the World Cup final and then, on his Test debut, produced knockout bouncer on the ground Steve Smith in a Test pass of cricket just as convincing as Andrew Flintoff’s famous Ashes at Edgbaston in 2005. .
After a diet of almost exclusively (and a few very talented) fast and medium bowlers, English cricket dined at Archer’s banquet. He was the promised land.
Archer’s elbow problem first emerged seven months after his England debut at the start of 2020. Multiple surgeries and a stress fracture in his back saw Archer play just 27 of 136 games in England in all formats since the start of this year.
After his longest England layoff of 22 months, Archer was able to play white ball internationals earlier this year. He hit 95mph in the Indian Premier League for the Mumbai Indians but news of further elbow discomfort raised alarm bells.
By then, it was starting to look increasingly unlikely that Archer would take part in the summer of testing, despite England making positive noises. Was a bowler who hadn’t played any top-class cricket since 2021 really going to return in the heat of a Battle of the Ashes?
A early release from the IPL raised fears and a Tuesday morning press release realized the worst of them. It will be Archer’s second consecutive year without first-team cricket in this country.
There are all sorts of infuriating aspects to Archer’s injury nightmare. He has played just four home Tests in front of a crowd – the rest of his 13 caps have come either away or in the 2020 summer unspectated bubble.
He missed two T20 World Cups, which England won. He will now sit on a second consecutive Ashes series, and the World Cup in India in October and November must be a huge doubt.
Even before this latest setback, there were genuine concerns over whether he would be able to play Test cricket again. Now, that must be a distinct possibility. The hope will be that Archer can one day don an England shirt of any type again.
“He is desperate to play in any form and I hope he gets the chance to do so,” said England chief executive Rob Key.
“It’s a tough road he has to take to sort this out, but I’m sure we’ll see him again at some point.”
Key drew a comparison to Australia captain Pat Cummins, whose back injuries forced him to wait more than five years between caps after making his Test debut in 2011.
The main difference was that Cummins made his comeback at age 24. Archer is already 28 years old.
“Jofra is like a Formula 1 car,” Key said. “You just think you’re getting to the point where he can come back and there’s another setback.
“You just hope his body will become tough enough to handle the rigors of anything.”
For now, England must go on without him, but it’s worth remembering that their recent impressive run of 10 out of 12 Test wins has come largely without a fast-paced bowler in the squad – Mark Wood n only played two of those matches.
There was a spate of injuries to fast bowlers at the start of the summer, but these hit those who weren’t available anyway, like Archer, and back-up options like Olly Stone and Jamie Overton .
As recently as Tuesday, James Anderson told the Tailenders podcast that he was not worried about groin injury he learned to play for Lancashire. He was named in the squad for the test against Ireland along with Australian fighter Stuart Broad.
At 40 and 36 respectively, Archer’s injuries are yet another reason to marvel at the longevity of the two English greats.
Ollie Robinson is the sacred heir to Anderson and Broad, the first-choice trio complemented by shards of Wood, Matthew Potts following his impressive first year in Test cricket and the return of Chris Woakes, whose England average is slightly improved.
Captain Ben Stokes has spoken of his desire to have eight fast bowlers to choose from for the Ashes.
On England’s bowling depth, Key mentioned Durham’s Brydon Carse (who is injured himself) and Worcestershire’s Josh Tongue. Saqib Mahmood is back after a long absence.
Archer being Archer, his superstar qualities mean news of this latest long absence will make headlines, but the reality is that he hasn’t been a Test cricketer in over two years.
Still, that won’t stop us from feeling his pain, wondering what could have been, and wishing for another quick game of bowling.
Right now, the return of a fit and licensed Jofra Archer in any type of cricket should be the hope for all of us.
