IT WAS A POOR DECISION BUT AFTER THIS TEST BRING ARCHER BACK
WE occasionally get advance warning from the ECB about an announcement, so when we were told early yesterday that something big was imminent, i thought a player had failed a Covid test or was going to disclose their retirement.
Then when we were told Jofra Archer had broken coronavirus protocols, i just thought, ‘oh no, what has he done? What a silly thing to do.’
Yes, the environment England have found themselves in this summer is not easy for anyone and you have to think of the players. They have been in this bubble for weeks without their families and it is not easy to go through.
But the rules are there and everybody involved in this Test series has to abide by them. More importantly for Archer, all of his team-mates have abided by them.
i’m sure they would have liked to pop home to recharge their batteries, too, but they didn’t.
And how about the West indies? They have come to a country with a far worse Covid record than theirs and have been stuck in hotels for more than a month.
i’m sure they would have loved to go out, too, but they didn’t. They have made a lot of sacrifices for the health of English and international cricket.
The commentators are lucky. We were permitted to go home between the Tests and that was a blessing after just five days in the bubble. But it is stricter for the teams and they all knew what they were signing up to.
Whether Archer did this naively or knew full well he was breaking the rules, we don’t know, but he has let his team-mates down and his captain, Joe root.
root was already without Jimmy Anderson and Mark Wood for this second Test and the last thing he needed was to lose Archer, too, on what is usually one of the fastest pitches in England.
if this had been known before the squad was announced late on Wednesday afternoon, perhaps root could have had at least one of Wood and Anderson at his disposal. But once that squad was named and England said they were being rested, the captain could not really go back on that because a third was suddenly unavailable.
it should be said that Jofra put his hands up immediately and said sorry. He sounded sincere in his apology and we can only hope he learns from this mistake. i do feel for the people who have put so much effort into making this extravaganza possible. i have sat in on a lot of meetings via Zoom about the biosecure arrangements for this summer and what has gone on behind the scenes is just unbelievable.
A small example of the detail: i walked across an empty ground early yesterday from the on- site hotel where we are staying, towards one of our broadcasting positions. immediately i got a text asking me not to do that in case i came into contact with a player. We are not allowed to go anywhere near them.
Everyone at the ECB knows the financial importance to the broadcast deal of getting this whole thing on. Not only jobs but the future of a great number of cricketers are at stake and the people who have put all that work in, and continue to do so, are the ones most let down by Archer.
Michael Holding made a good point at the start of sky’s programme yesterday.
should the England team be travelling together on a coach between matches? At least they would then know nobody is breaking the rules.
it was lucky Archer’s detour via Hove emerged on Wednesday night because it would have been an awful lot worse if England had not realised he had done this until, say, two days into the match. What would have happened then?
it really was brilliant to see Jofra back to somewhere near his best in the second innings of the first Test. He has missed so much cricket and it would have been lovely to see him follow that up here at old Trafford. But the right decision was made.
And i think missing this Test is enough punishment.
Archer knows he got it wrong and it will be pretty miserable having to stay in his room for five days and have two more Covid tests before he is allowed back into the group. once this game is over and providing he comes back clear from those tests, we should all move on with a clean slate.