For the first time in nearly two years, Jofra Archer is ready to play for England following his selection for the 14-man ODI squad for the England tour of South Africa in January.
During England’s T20I tour of India in March 2021, Jofra Archer last played in an international match. In England’s 2019 ODI World Cup victory, he took the most wickets for the team.
The chronic elbow problem he has suffered over the past few years has forced him to undergo two surgeries, and a stress fracture in his lower back prevented him from playing the entire 2022 home season.
The 30-year-old did, however, make an impressive comeback to the England setup last month, taking part in warm-up games against the Test squad and practicing with the England Lions. He struck Zak Crawley in the head with a vicious bouncer in one of his nine overs in that game.
As part of a controlled return to play across all formats, Archer will also play two matches for MI Cape Town in the inaugural SA20 league, a new league in South Africa that begins in January.
In a statement following his bowling appearance in Abu Dhabi last month, Archer acknowledged he was still very early in his return to fitness and called his return to Test cricket “a tiny day but still a huge day.”
“I’d rather take these last few months very seriously, more serious than probably all of the rehab,” he said. “Because once this phase goes right, then it can set me up for the next three to four years injury-free. That’s the goal right now.”
With all England’s caps at his disposal, Harry Brook will have the opportunity to earn each one. As a result of his outstanding performance in the most recent Test series in Pakistan, where he scored 468 runs at 93.60, including three hundreds, he was selected for the first time in an ODI squad.
Yorkshire batsman Harry Brook has also been selected for the ODI team. Besides being a regular member of England’s T20I team, he was named Player of the Series in the just completed Test series in Pakistan. The addition of Ben Duckett is another noteworthy development. The southpaw opens the ODI lineup for the first time since 2016.
Ben Duckett, who also performed well on both white-ball and red-ball legs of the Pakistan tour and scored 357 runs at a strike rate of 71.40, is back in the ODI lineup for the first time since 2016.
In the months leading up to England’s triumphant T20 World Cup campaign in Australia, Reece Topley suffered an ankle injury after falling on a boundary marker. Topley is reported to be recovering well from the injury.
There will be two games in Bloemfontein on January 27 and 29, followed by the third and final game in Kimberley on February 1.
England Men’s ODI squad: Jos Buttler, Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Ben Duckett, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Jason Roy, Phil Salt, Olly Stone, Reece Topley, David Willey, Chris Woakes