Jofra Archer won't be joining the rest of his England teammates as per schedule after undergoing a precautionary COVID-19 test as one of the members of his family felt unwell last weekend, confirmed the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).
The pacer was supposed to link up with the England squad on Tuesday (June 23) in Southampton ahead of the quarantine period they'll be going into before the start of the Test series against West Indies, beginning July 8.
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"Archer, and members of his household, have tested negative for COVID-19. He will have a second test tomorrow (Wednesday 23 June), and if he tests negative, he will join up with the training group on Thursday," said the ECB in a media release.
Before this pandemic, the 25-year-old was under rehab due to an elbow injury, which, however, as he himself updated on Monday (June 22), has now completed healed.
"This past fortnight has been a lot different from the previous few weeks of practice as the intensity when you introduce batsmen goes up without you even noticing," Archer wrote in his column for the Daily Mail.
"So far everything feels like clockwork. Crunch in, crunch out, my body feels fresh, and there are no issues with my right elbow whatsoever, touch wood."
The series features back to back Test matches at the Ageas Bowl and Old Trafford. But Archer feels fully confident to go through match intensity once again.
"Despite the fact that the three matches of this series are played in such a short space of time ... I could play all three — but everyone will be a bit cautious in terms of workload, thinking about the body and what lies ahead," he stated.
"Bowling has been a gradual progression but despite the fact that I was resting my elbow injury when we went into lockdown in March, I have followed similar loads to the other England Test bowlers."
