Jofra Archer has been included in the England team for the second Test
Jofra Archer has been included in the England team for the second Test
England have named a 15-man squad for the second Test against India starting July 2 in Birmingham. Jofra Archer returns to the Test side after a four-year gap.
Jofra Archer might play his first Test match in over four years after being added to the England team to face India at Edgbaston next week.
His addition is the only change made by the selectors after England took a 1-0 lead in the series with a five-wicket win at Headingley. The second of five Tests will begin on Wednesday.
Archer, who last played red-ball cricket in May 2021 during a Sussex match at Durham, is one of six seam bowlers competing for a spot in the second Test. Jamie Overton and Sam Cook have been kept in the squad along with Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, and Josh Tongue.
Archer hasn't played in the Test team since the 2021 tour of India, with his last match being in Ahmedabad, where he earned one of his 13 caps. Following that, he had to deal with recurring elbow issues and a back stress fracture, which limited him to just seven limited-overs international matches from March 2021 to May 2024.
He has now come back to regular white-ball cricket and recently played his first-class match at Chester-le-Street, where he bowled 18 overs and took 1 wicket for 32 runs, helping Sussex draw with Durham.
After the second day of play, Archer acknowledged that the biggest challenge would be adjusting to the mental aspect of multi-day cricket. "I felt good today," he mentioned. "I’ve been playing for a year and bowling for two years, so I’m fine physically.
"Now it's a different kind of challenge because I know my body can handle it. The mental side will be tough. In the next few days, I’ll have to work through it, but it’s all good. It’s a new challenge, and I’ll keep pushing forward."
The second and third Tests will take place one after the other at Edgbaston and Lord's, and England may decide to change their bowlers. Tongue was the best bowler for England at Headingley, with match figures of 7 for 158, while Ben Stokes took five wickets and Carse took four. Woakes, who played his first Test since December, ended up with figures of 1 for 148 but is expected to perform better after missing the start of the season due to an ankle injury.