Archer sharp on return

With the Ashes less than seven months away England quick bowler Jofra Archer has made his long-awaited return to action. The pacer delivered nine overs, and was sharp enough to crack England opener Zak Crawley on the helmet, as he played in a warmup match between England’s test team and its development side, the England Lions. England have a battery of pace bowlers, but many have been afflicted by injury in recent years, including the two genuinely fast ones, Archer and Mark Wood. Archer has not played competitively for 18 months due to longstanding elbow problems and a stress fracture of the lower back. England have a two-test tour to New Zealand in February, but that may be too soon for his test return.