Jofra Archer plays a match in Barbados without ECB's knowledge; Director Rob Key reacts- Report

Jofra Archer is currently recovering from his elbow injury.

Jofra Archer | Getty Images

England's star fast bowler, Jofra Archer, reportedly took part in a cricket match for his school team in Barbados without informing the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). This was revealed by the Telegraph newspaper.

The ECB had no idea that Archer, who is currently in the West Indies with the England squad, played a match for his school team in Barbados, nor did the star pacer seek permission from the board for the same.

Notably, Archer is currently recovering from his elbow injury in the West Indies. The fast bowler reportedly rejoined the England cricket team on December 10, which is currently on a Caribbean tlimited-oversed overs series.

Before joining the England team, Archer played a match for the Foundation against Lord's in the First Division of the Barbados Cricket Association (BCA) League. According to the official Barbados cricket website, Archer was the best performer in that match, taking 4 wickets for 18 runs.

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Archer's decision to play for his former school team was quite unexpected, especially considering he had recently been involved in a series of bowling drills as part of his recovery from a recurring right elbow injury. This was not something that the ECB was expecting from the pacer.

Now, Rob Key, the director of men's cricket in England, reacted to Archer's decision to play for Foundation, saying he wasn’t aware of the same and he would talk with him.

Key was quoted by the Telegraph as saying: “We're just going to take it slow with him, we don't want to put any sort of deadlines on him. That's what we've done in the past, and we're trying to learn from that. If it takes an extra couple of months, but he gets another couple of years out of his career and gets back fully. He's worth his weight in gold.”

ECB has been handling Jofra Archer very carefully because of his injury woes. He missed a lot of cricketing action due to the elbow issues. He recently made a comeback to cricket during the ODI series against South Africa. He played a few games in IPL as well but again was ruled out of the action due to the injury.

(With India Today/Telegraph Inputs)

 
 

By Rashmi Nanda - 12 Dec, 2023

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