England bent rules to get speedster in side
ENGLAND might have voted to get out of Europe, but they couldn’t wait to get their hands on a little slice of Barbados.
Jofra Archer, the once-in-ageneration intimidator threatening to torment Australia into submission, is only lining up in this Ashes series because England administrators threw out the rule book in a desperate bid to get him in.
Less than nine months before the start of the Ashes, England slashed their eligibility rules from seven years to just three after realising they had a Barbados-born fast bowler at their fingertips with the potential to change international cricket forever.
The decision to purposefully fast-track Archer was so controversial, it caused angst among fellow England players who feared he would take their place, and threatens to banish the former cricketing powerhouse that was the West Indies into insignificance.
“Funny how you can bend the rules when you need to,” former Australian Test great Mike Whitney said. “The last spell against Australia the other night … that was frightening. I was sitting on the edge of my seat.”
Former England captain Michael Vaughan said the cricket world was witnessing something special in Archer.
“Should be playing for the West Indies,” was the tonguein-cheek retort from Australian legend Mark Waugh.
So tight was it to squeeze Archer in after England backflipped on their own rules on November 29 last year, it was thought the 23-year-old would have to cut down on his Big Bash commitments at the Hobart Hurricanes so he could meet the ECB quota of spending 210 days living in the UK.
Archer, who holds a British passport thanks to his English father, reportedly abandoned the Caribbean for the UK out of anger after the bumbling West Indies brushed him from an under-19 team.
However, former Windies star Tino Best has suggested there were other factors working in England’s favour to clinch them the greatest tormenter of Australians since Curtly Ambrose.
“But how can West Indies compete when it comes to money bag(s), legend?” Best replied to Waugh on Twitter.
“Can’t believe he’s playing for England, well, well, well.”