Jofra Archer ruled out of the English summer

Jofra Archer, after a brief return to professional cricket that lasted roughly five months, is unavailable for selection again. As confirmed by the ECB (England and Wales Cricket Board), he is ruled out for the whole English summer due to the recurrence of a stress fracture in his elbow. Consequently, the 28-year old is not considered for England’s one-off Test against Ireland scheduled to begin June 1 onwards. 

Archer suffered a string of injuries, mostly in his troubled elbow of the bowling arm. He did not play any professional cricket in 2022. After months of rehab, the right-arm seamer marked his return in the inaugural SA20 season, representing MI Cape Town. He then appeared for England in three T20Is in Bangladesh and two ODIs each in Bangladesh and South Africa with moderate returns. 

Archer featured in five T20s for Mumbai Indians in the ongoing IPL season, picking two wickets at an economy of 9.5. He mostly delivered in mid-130s - a clear sign that he was lagging way behind his best. Reports surfaced that Archer has left the MI camp to meet an elbow specialist in Belgium. However, a couple of weeks later, Mumbai Indians confirmed that Archer has been released from the squad due to the recurrence of his elbow injury.

The ECB confirmed: "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."

Not long back, the managing director of ECB, Robert Key was hopeful that Archer will play a big role for England in the upcoming Ashes series at home. However, the seamer has now been ruled out of the whole season.

“It has been a frustrating and upsetting period for Jofra Archer. He was making good progress until a recurrence of the elbow injury, which kept him out for an extended period previously,” said Key while breaking out the news. 

“We wish him the best of luck with his recovery. I’m sure we will see Jofra back to his best and winning games for England, whatever the format. Hopefully, sooner rather than later. I would like to wish the players every success, especially those returning after some time away," Key added. 

England men's Test squad for the Ireland Test: 

Ben Stokes ( c ), James Anderson, Jonathan Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood