ARCHER'S TIMELINE
Follow Us“Taking wickets again for England, it's fantastic. You got to temper the expectations, it's a long time, and he's not going to be the Jofra Archer of old straightaway,” said Jos Buttler after Jofra Archer made his well-awaited return in the Three Lions strip.
“It gave me goosebumps to see him take that wicket,” said Chris Jordan.
However you look at it, Jofra Archer’s return was well-awaited, and never in the sport's history in England has someone seen such immense backing. It was indeed a timeline marred with multiple injuries and several setbacks.
Archer’s timeline of injuries and setbacks
March 2021: Elbow injury on tour to India
The first major setback for Archer was being ruled out of two Tests and the ODIs against India. In a freak injury, Archer had to remove a piece of glass from a tendon in his right hand after he broke a fish tank trying to clean it.
"This is going to sound like an awful conspiracy and I can see what's going happen on Twitter as soon as I say this. But, yeah, he was cleaning at home. He's got a fish tank. He dropped the fish tank, cut his hand, and he's been in surgery today," England's then Director of Cricket, Ashley Giles said.
If that wasn’t enough, his elbow injury had ruled him out of the tour, with at least two weeks of rehabilitation.
April and May 2021: Return from elbow setback
Archer was deemed fit to return to action in the upcoming months, with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) clearing him of any injury. Archer tested his fitness when he featured for Sussex’s second XI against Surrey, where he went wicketless on his first day before ending the innings with figures of 2/102.
But Archer didn’t bowl in the second innings of that clash, which later was revealed to be another episode of pain and soreness in his elbow, ruling him out of the two-match Test series against New Zealand.
August 2021: Elbow fracture rules him out for a year
The first of the big blows came in August when the ECB ruled Archer out of cricketing action for the rest of the year after an elbow fracture on the right hand. This meant he wouldn’t be part of the home Test series against India, the Indian Premier League, the T20 World Cup in the Middle East, or the Ashes Down Under.
Subsequently, however, Archer was aiming for a swift comeback with the tour to the Caribbean.
December 2021: Elbow operation rules him out further
It became unclear whether Archer would be ready for the Windies tour. However, things became clear when the Sussex pacer had to undergo an elbow operation, ruling him out of the Caribbean tour in March 2022, during which England tanked in the Test series.
There was no clarity on whether Archer would participate in the upcoming 2022 IPL, which was primarily why Rajasthan Royals let him go, considering his price tag.
January and February 2022: A ray of hope and a big IPL bid
Just as his career seemed to be going nowhere, Archer recovered enough to join the group in the Caribbean, where he was undergoing light training drills. While his return to competitive cricket was still a mile away, it was a step in the right direction.
In February, five-time IPL winners Mumbai Indians made a big decision to splurge INR 8 crore on Archer at the mega auction, signaling that there was still a demand for him
Why did MI go for Archer?
Essentially, MI wanted to pair up Bumrah and Archer at the 2023 IPL, which created a ripple effect on the league, even if that meant they had to fight with RR at the auction and splurge INR 8 crore.
“Jofra has been a player Mahela (Jayawardene) gave his first professional debut too. So happy to have got him. So happy to have Jof and Boom making a lethal bowling attack, although next year,” Akash Ambani, the owner of MI, said during an interaction with the broadcaster.
May 2022: Here we go again with a stress fracture
After Archer had openly talked about his declining mental health due to his physical health condition and time away from the sport, there was a slimmer of hope that he would make his return through the T20 Blast.
That changed on May 19, when he was diagnosed with another stress fracture in his lower back, ruling him out of the entire year. Subsequently, Archer also missed England’s successful T20 World Cup campaign Down Under. But in November 2022, Archer made a small appearance with England Lions, where he famously bounced England opener Zak Crawley.
January 2023: Archer is back
Stop the press; ARCHER IS BACK!!
Archer returned to competitive action in January, starting with the SA20, where he was picked as a Wildcard signing for MI Cape Town. The speedster picked up ten wickets in six appearances.
"There's no reason to look back. I've done my time and I'm here now. That's the most important thing. I'd probably say I'm about 80%. Just some fine-tuning now,” Archer told reporters, as ESPNCricinfo reported.
His international return, however, didn’t go as expected, with figures of 1/81 in a clash where he was the most expensive bowler against South Africa in Bloemfontein. However, come the third ODI in Kimberly, Archer was roaring back to his best, with figures of 6/40, where his victims included Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller.
March 2023: Successful return to Asia
Archer carried on his merry run with a stellar display in Bangladesh, where he picked up five wickets across two ODIs. The Sussex pacer also finished with figures of 3/13 in Mirpur, showing his class.
April 2023: Much-hyped IPL return
The then 28-year-old marked his IPL return with a stint for Mumbai Indians. While the stint was largely forgettable, with just two wickets across five fixtures, it was also marred by a few controversies, including a report that stated Archer had travelled to Belgium in the middle of the IPL.
While Archer denied the report, MI’s head coach, Mark Boucher, confirmed that Archer had travelled to Belgium for minor surgery.
"Yes, he was (in Belgium). I believe it was a minor surgery,” Boucher said before MI’s clash against RR.
May 2023: The long road of recovery (yet again)
Just a month after his IPL return, Archer withdrew from the competition on May 9, citing discomfort in his elbow. ECB insisted that the pacer was going through the motion with discomfort, which proved challenging for him to be at his best.
"Jofra will return home to focus on his rehabilitation," the franchise said.
"Pushing through the discomfort whilst recently playing, hoping it will settle, has proven challenging. Therefore, it has been agreed for him to return to the UK for a period of rest and rehabilitation to give him the best opportunity for a full recovery,” ECB stated.
If that wasn’t enough, Archer was also ruled out of the English summer, jeopardising his recovery progress.
September 2023: Archer returns as travelling reserve for the 2023 ODI World Cup
Despite Archer not being fully fit, the ECB named him as a travelling reserve for the 50-over mega event in India.
"The best thing for Jofra is to travel with the team and keep working with his rehab and being around the physios and the team. We are doing all we can to get him ready to be as good as he can be,” said England national selector Luke Wright.
While everyone was quite shocked by his speedy recovery, he did not play a single match in the competition despite Reece Topley's injury.
Archer’s slow but steady path to recovery
In December 2023, Archer started on this path to recovery, representing his school team in the Barbados Cricket Association’s second tier. The shocking fact about his representation was that he had not informed any ECB members, putting them in a blind spot.
Archer returned with figures of 4/18, with three wickets bowling right-arm pace and one wicket bowling left-arm spin, something he has repeatedly unleashed in various training sessions.
However, in March 2024, Archer was involved in Sussex’s trip to Karnataka, where he took on his home team representing Karnataka. Archer did not take part on day one but then turned up for Karnataka, removing teammate Tom Alsop.
In April, Rob Key confirmed that Archer is part of England’s plans for the upcoming T20 World Cup and also revealed that he won’t be involved in any red-ball setup till 2025. Archer is not only named in the upcoming Pakistan tour but also in the squad for the T20 World Cup.
On May 5, Archer also played for Wildey in the BCA T20 Cup Championship. He picked up 3/16 after showing his class with the bat, striking 54 off just 20 balls and nine boundaries in total.
Archer’s much-awaited return
“Jofra’s that bowler that’s just so special you do everything you can to try to get him back playing. We’ve taken the longer road this time. He’s one of those rare cricketers.
"When you look at the attributes you want for a bowler in international cricket, Jofra has all of them. A lot of bowlers tick one or two of those, but Jofra has absolutely all of them,” England’s managing director of men’s cricket, Rob Key, said.
Archer is clearly a key member of this setup. This was evident when he returned with figures of 2/28 after smashing 12 off just four balls.
For the nth time, Archer is back, but this time with an eye on the T20 World Cup.
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