Archer hints at retirement if injury woe persists

England will name Jofra Archer in their squad for this summer’s T20 World Cup this month, even though the fast bowler has raised fresh fears he may never play international cricket again.

The 29-year-old has not played for England since the white-ball tour of Bangladesh in March last year but has started his comeback from injury, playing on Sussex’s preseason tour of India last month and in club cricket in his native Barbados in recent weeks.

Archer (right), who has not played a Test or first-class match since 2021, is expected to make his international return in next month’s home Twenty20i series against Pakistan, ahead of the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and USA in June.

Rob Key, England’s director of cricket, has stated his desire for Archer to play in that tournament. And i understands that he will, barring any further injury setbacks, be in the squad when it is named this month.

Key has also said that Archer, who signed a two-year England contract in October, will not play any red-ball cricket this summer as he looks to be fully fit for next year’s Ashes series in Australia.

Yet having been beset by injuries for the past five years, including a persistent elbow problem that has required several operations, and a stress fracture of the back in 2022, there are no guarantees for a bowler who helped England win the 50-over World Cup in 2019 during a stunning debut summer in international cricket in which he also starred in the Ashes. “I haven’t played cricket for a whole 12 months as yet,” said Archer.

“Last year, I played from January to May. The year before that, I played maybe one or two games for Sussex, so you know I’ve had a whole year of nothing. It’s been a while and, honestly, I don’t know if I’ve got another stop-start year in me. That’s the truth, I don’t know if I’ve got another one.”

England remain bullish that Archer will be fit for the start of their T20 World Cup campaign, against Scotland in Barbados on 4

June. “Come June I really do want to be in the team,” Archer told The Athlete’s Voice podcast. “I really do want to be playing back at home, in front of my family and my dogs, at that first game back.

“The last two years have been really stop-start, so I just think, you know, everyone’s gonna just take it a bit easy. If I’m ready, then fine, happy days – but if I’m not, they’re still supporting me.

“I mean, worst case scenario – I don’t really want to think about this – but even if I don’t make it to the World Cup for whatever reason, there’s still the T20 Blast, there’s still the Hundred.

“There’s still cricket that I haven’t got a chance to play in the last couple of years, so as much as I want to play in the World Cup, if it doesn’t happen for whatever reason, at least I still know I could be somewhat active.”

I don’t want to think about this, but if I don’t make the World Cup for whatever reason, there’s still the T20 Blast