Former England captain and renowned cricket voice Nasser Hussain lashed out at Jofra Archer after the fast-bowler made a silly mistake that led him to be left out of English squad for the second Test against the West Indies on Thursday (July 16).
Archer was dropped by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) from England squad for the second Test of the three-match Test series against West Indies for breaking the COVID-19 protocol.
The pacer was found breaking England’s bio-secure protocols by stopping off at his Brighton home during his journey from Southampton to Old Trafford after the defeated first Test and now will undergo two COVID-19 tests during a five-day isolation period before returning to the English group.
The England-West Indies Test series is being played amid the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, although the first Test in Southampton passed off without any incident, in such a situation, even a very small mistake could lead to all team in danger and the former captain was not really pleased with Jofra’s silliness.
Hussain told Sky Sports on Thursday, “It is naive and silly to get it wrong because of the effort that's gone in and the health risk - this is a serious illness and you cannot risk infecting anyone.”
The former captain further added, “We don't know if it was just a naivety from Jofra or if it was something more serious. He has apologized, it is a very unusual situation that we all find ourselves in and he's made a mistake.”
Meanwhile, Hussain said England captain Joe Root “will be disappointed with Archer's lapse” adding: “His team-mates will be disappointed, as will his captain.”
He signed off by saying, “(But) cricketers just move on very quickly. More importantly for Joe Root, you park. Once someone's done something like this on a Test match morning, you completely park that and leave it with management. Joe Root will be focusing on the toss and the team. There are some difficult decisions for Joe Root, not what you need as a captain on the first morning of the Test.”
(With Sky Sports Inputs)
