Can he bowl over the world?
Four years ago, Jofra Archer was playing village cricket. Tomorrow he spearheads England’s bid to win their home World Cup at Lord’s
On a July day in rural Sussex four years ago, the skipper of a village cricket team tossed the ball to their opening bowler more in hope than expectation. For the 20-year- old was recovering from a bad back and the team’s opponents had a strong batting reputation.
But what happened next had the handful of spectators marvelling.
In five overs of fast bowling, the young man dismissed the first five batsmen for just eight runs, shattering the stumps of three of them.
‘That was the moment we knew we were looking at a very special talent,’ says Matt Warren, chairman of Middleton Cricket Club.
Tomorrow, that ‘special talent’ is England’s big hope in the World Cup Final.
For on Thursday — exactly four years to the day since that match in the amateur Sussex cricket league — Jofra archer, now 24, opened the bowling for England against australia and destroyed the opposition. Doubtless many of the estimated one billion global TV audience will want to see if the man billed as the sport’s next superstar lives up to the hype.
NOT only has archer taken more wickets than any other England bowler at a World Cup, passing Sir Ian Botham, he has also notched up some of the fastest deliveries, including a helmet-rattling 95mph — from what has been described as a ‘nonchalant run-up’.
But had things turned out differently, archer might have been England’s nemesis rather than our hero.
Born and raised in Barbados, he started as a slow spin bowler, only turning to pace at the age of 15.
archer progressed into the West Indies under-19 team but became disillusioned with the West Indies cricket board in 2014 after not being selected for their under-19 World Cup squad. ‘once I knew it was an option, it was an easy decision to move to England,’ he later said.
His English father, Frank, reportedly worked for many years as a London Underground driver and now lives in Liverpool. archer has only ever held a British passport.
He was invited to try out for Sussex who found him a place as an overseas player with south coast team from Middleton-on-Sea.
Evidence of his love of the game was seen in 2014 while on a tour to the West Country to play friendly games with the cricketing equivalent of a ‘pub’ team.
Called Two Hopes Cricket Club, archer and akeem Jordan, another Bajan cricketer playing for a club side in West Sussex, had been invited to bolster numbers on the trip to Cornwall. Staying in a rented house, archer impressed his fellow players by pitching in with the cooking and washing up.
Ever since, his stock has only risen, his fast bowling since making him one of the most prized commodities on the international T20 circuit, in which each side bats for just 20 overs.
It has been reported that in the autumn he will be offered a central contract with the England and Wales Cricket Board worth in the region of £1 million a year.
Money from playing in the Indian Premier League and endorsements could see him easily double that sum.
not bad for someone who, just four years ago, was a virtual unknown.