Root: Archer elbow injury not our fault

JOE ROOT insists Jo fr a Archer has not been overburdened in his first nine months as an international fast bowler.

However, there was also an acceptance that England must start managing the workload of one of their primary match winners more efficiently when he returns to top-level action this summer.

At the end of a week in which 24-year-old Archer was ruled out until May with a stress fracture of the elbow, Test captain Root said: ‘I wouldn’t say he’s been over- bowled. You look at the amount of cricket he’s played before he played for England — he’s played a huge amount. And he came into international cricket and took the world by storm.

‘He’s had a phenomenal start on the international stage and should be extremely proud of what he has achieved already in his short career.’

Archer first felt discomfort in his elbow during the World Cup and it re-surfaced in the Test series in New Zealand, where he was asked to send down a marathon 42 overs in one innings, and here in South Africa, although initial scans after the first Test defeat — in which he claimed a third fivewicket haul in seven appearances — failed to locate any damage.

‘I think it will be good for him to have a mental break to get some time away from the game, to get refreshed,’ said Root. ‘We’ve just got to make sure we build him up very well from the start of the summer and make sure he’s absolutely ready to go. We need to really manage him efficiently. One of the pleasing things is we are really clear on what the injury is now and it ended up being the right call for him not playing in that last Test.’

Root has enjoyed playing all three formats himself but now admits has days as a T20 England pl ayer could be numbered. ‘I t hink being honest, looking at the squad there is at the minute and the players who are performing around t he world i n T20 competitions, I’m probably not in the best XI,’ he said.

England must beat South Africa at the Wanderers today to extend their unbeaten run in bilateral one-day series to 12. But the prospects of a full game are slim given the heavy rain forecast.