Jofra Archer set to make England return next month in South Africa ODI series
The fast bowler has not played for England since March 2021 due to injury.
Jofra Archer is set to make his long-awaited England comeback in the new year after returning to the squad for January’s one-day series in South Africa.
The pace bowler, who burst on to the scene in stunning fashion in 2019 and played a key role in that summer’s World Cup triumph, has not played international cricket since March 2021 due to injury.
The 27-year-old suffered a sequence of elbow problems, requiring two operations, and then saw his return to action fall apart when he sustained a stress fracture of the lower back in May.
He bowled nine overs against the senior England team during their warm-up match in Abu Dhabi, hitting a good pace and raising hopes that he was close to full fitness.
Archer takes his place in a 14-man squad for the three-match tour of South Africa, a rearranged series that was initially abandoned in December 2020 after a Covid-19 scare saw England fly home early.
The 23-year-old has been an ever present on England’s hectic winter schedule but has not been rested ahead of the Test trip to New Zealand in February. Ben Duckett, who won the last of his eight 50-over caps in 2016, also returns to the fold having re-established himself in the T20 and Test set-ups over recent months.
Mark Wood has been rested as Rob Key’s selection panel continue to manage his workload, but while Joe Root will not be with the team he will not be taking up the option of down time at home. Instead, he is heading for the UAE T20 League which runs for a month from mid-January.
Dubai Capitals announced his signing shortly after the squad announcement, giving Root the franchise experience he has often coveted but previously denied himself during his time as Test captain. With 158 ODI caps already under his belt, England will feel he does not need to prove anything in a low-key bilateral series and have allowed him to broaden his short-form horizons.
Reece Topley, who was ruled out of the T20 World Cup after tripping on a boundary sponge, is also involved but Liam Livingstone is out with the knee injury he suffered on Test debut in Rawalpindi.
Sam Billings, Liam Dawson, Chris Jordan, James Vince and Luke Wood all featured in the most recent ODI squad in Australia but are absent this time.
England’s ODI squad for South Africa: J Buttler (c, wk), M Ali, J Archer, H Brook, S Curran, B Duckett, D Malan, A Rashid, J Roy, P Salt, O Stone, R Topley, D Willey, C Woakes.
