Vaughan, Atherton, and Cook express concerns about Jofra Archer’s Test future due to elbow injury

Jofra Archer was ruled out of remainder of 2021 due to his elbow injury.

Former England captain Michael Vaughan, Michael Atherton, and Sir Alastair Cook expressed genuine concerns about fast bowler Jofra Archer’s future in Test cricket after he was ruled out from cricket for the remainder of 2021.

Archer, who was born in Barbados, first donned the English colors during the 2019 home summer, during which he was England’s leading wicket-taker in the victorious World Cup campaign and the following Ashes series.

By now, the 26-year-old has featured in 13 Tests, 17 ODIs, and 12 T20Is, however, a recurring elbow injury has proved to be his undoing, and now much express concern that Archer may look at limiting his cricket to limited-overs in order to have a long career in international cricket.

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Archer had to fly back home from the India tour and was ruled out of the IPL 2021 after experiencing pain in his right elbow. He had then gone through surgery to remove a bone fragment from his right elbow in May. However, he felt increasing discomfort while bowling for Sussex, his county side, earlier this summer and was sent for further scans.

With Archer being ruled out of the ongoing England-India Test series, the second half of IPL 2021, the T20 World Cup in UAE and the Ashes 2021-22 in December in Australia, former captain Michael Vaughan wondered about the prospects of Archer’s Test career longevity.

He further shared an example of spinner Graeme Swann, who had to retire after suffering a similar injury and wrote in his column for The Daily Telegraph, “You have to fear for Jofra Archer’s Test career now. Graeme Swann had floating bone fragments removed from his elbow and was eventually forced to retire because of chronic problems with the joint. Archer is younger and will receive the best care and hopefully, he will make a full recovery given time, but it is a worrying development.”

Vaughan further opined that Archer would be better served if he primarily focuses on the shorter forms of the game.

“At least cricketers have an alternative now and if the elbow is that bad why would he want to risk further injury by bowling 25 overs a day in Test cricket? Players can now earn a very good living in Twenty20 and Archer is one of the world’s best white-ball bowlers. Arguably, his loss from England’s Twenty20 World Cup team is a bigger blow than missing the Ashes.

Jofra Archer ruled out for rest of the year due to elbow injury

England had put a lot of faith on attacking Australia with pace on flat pitches this winter, but Archer has only performed occasionally in Test cricket whereas he boasts a proven track record in Twenty20,” Vaughan wrote.

Vaughan's predecessor Michael Atherton also was skeptical of Archer being a regular feature in red-ball cricket.

“We shall wait and see. Fingers crossed that is not the case. He has gone on record as saying he wants to play Test cricket and play all formats. All the top players still want to prove themselves across all formats. Let’s hope his body allows him to do that and that he is not just reduced to playing short-form cricket,” Atherton said on Sky Sports.

Sir Alastair Cook was disappointed with England going into the Ashes 2021-22 in Australia without Jofra Archer and stressed how elbow injuries could be a career-changing factor for fast-bowlers.

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“We spoke all this time about England going to Australia with a battery of fast bowlers and Jofra Archer is another one joining Ollie Stone who is out. Tim Bresnan was never the same bowler after his elbow injury – they’re so hard to get right.

He lost that yard of pace and Jofra’s point of difference is that he can bowl genuinely quick. It’s a game-changer. The only thing now, though, is the advances in medical research, and recovery of these injuries is better now. So if there is ever a chance, they can get it right,” Cook said on BBC Test Match Special.

Jofra Archer might be out of cricket in 2021, but everyone is wishing for him to return back in 2022 roaring in all formats of the game.