Jofra Archer makes his England return after a near-TWO-YEAR absence from international cricket
England fast bowler Jofra Archer makes his long-awaited return after a near-TWO-YEAR absence from international cricket in opening one-day match against South Africa
- Jofra Archer returned to England’s attack for the first time since March 2021
- The bowler has endured two elbows operations and a stress fracture in his back
- Archer’s first ball was clocked at 87mph but South Africa gave him a tough start
England fast bowler Jofra Archer has made his long-awaited return to international cricket in the one-day series opener against South Africa.
The 27-year-old began his England comeback by bowling the second over at the Mangaung Oval in Bloemfontein.
Archer’s first ball on his return was clocked at 87mph, suggesting his nightmare run of injuries have not impacted his ability to bowl at pace.
Jofra Archer returned to England action during the first ODI against South Africa on Friday
The 27-year-old fast bowler’s first ball on his England comeback was clocked at 87mph
South Africa’s opening batsmen Temba Bavuma and Quinton de Kock gave Archer a challenging start to his return, with his first five overs coming at the cost of 41 runs.
Archer admitted prior to the series he is currently around 80 per cent fit, as he steps up his comeback.
The fast bowler has faced a series of injury setbacks over the past 22 months, which forced his absence from the England set-up.
South Africa’s openers scored 41 runs off Archer’s first five overs of the one-day match
The fast bowler required two surgeries to fix an elbow injury and had been expected to return last summer.
He was then diagnosed with a stress fracture to his back, which led to a further spell of rehabitilion.
Archer earned his 43rd England cap across all formats, with captain Jos Buttler expecting the bowler to get ‘better and better’ following his return.
England are expected to manage Archer’s comeback by making back-to-back matches off limits, as well as potentially limiting the number of overs he bowls initially.
Archer has been tipped to get better and better as he steps up his return to action
Archer has admitted he may need to fine tune his body over the next ‘two, three, four months’ to make himself more resilient.
Archer bowled the Super Over in England’s World Cup final win over New Zealand in 2019, as well as taking 22 Australian wickets in the Ashes series in the same year to launch his Test career.
The fast bowler has expressed hopes of a repeat later this year.