New rule hands classy Archer a global stage
ONE of the most precious joys of sport is that lucky, happy, glorious moment when you see a young player for the first time and instantly know a special talent is about to blossom. I remember seeing David Beckham on the first day of the 1995-6 Premier League season. Manchester United were losing 3-0 at half-time to Aston Villa and he was introduced as a substitute and completely controlled the second half, scoring a fabulous long-range goal.
United lost 3-1, and that night Alan Hansen famously told the Match of the Day audience that you “never win anything with kids”. The title that year was captured by Beckham and company.
I remember also a third round FA Cup tie in 2008 and the sight of a 16-year-old kid playing for Cardiff
City. He dominated the match from central midfield with composure, class and natural authority. Aaron Ramsey has enjoyed a fine career and looks likely to leave Arsenal for Bayern Munich next summer.
These moments are rare; the certainty that you are witnessing a future star.
I had the same feeling when a fast bowler with an engaging smile and effervescent joie de vivre burst on to the TV screens last deep midwinter.
He was playing for the Hobart Hurricanes team in the T20 Big Bash league in Australia – bowling with fearsome accuracy at 94mph, taking a series of stunning catches on the boundary, and smashing a few sixes down the order as well.
You couldn’t take your eyes off the spectacular performances of Jofra Archer. But who was he?
Well, the youngster was born in Barbados, turned out three times for West Indies U19s, but has an English father and a British passport. He decided three years ago he preferred to play senior international cricket for England, however long the eligibility process took. When Archer made that choice he was 20 years old and the waiting period was a mammoth seven years; surely evidence of firm commitment, just as there had been from others in the past like Graeme Hick, Andy Caddick, Kevin Pietersen, Jonathan Trott and Keaton Jennings who all served qualification periods.
Last week the ECB sensibly amended their tough regulations and reduced the waiting time to three years – a policy now in line with other countries and other sports. The immediate consequence is that Archer will now be available for selection at the prestigious World Cup next summer, to be held in this country for the first time in 20 years, and also for the Ashes series that follows.
It is fantastic news for English cricket to follow the feel-good factor of a 3-0 Test series victory in Sri Lanka.
England’s one-day international side, already ranked World No1, will be even stronger with Archer pushing for inclusion. He is a very special talent.
Archer had been in county cricket at Sussex for a couple of summers, but that remains an anonymous arena and it was performances with the Hurricanes that introduced him to a global cricket audience.
The impact was instant. Within weeks he was snapped up by IPL club Rajasthan Royals on a staggering £800,000 contract.
Strong displays followed in the Indian T20 tournament and more improvement with Sussex last summer. It was clearly folly to maintain the draconian seven-year regulation, both for the sake of the England cricket team and also for the career of Archer himself. Put simply, it is plain wrong that star talent should be frozen out in the prime of playing life. It offends against natural justice.
Archer is 23. He would have been 27 before he could play international cricket for England before the ECB’s change of heart.
He brings instinctive joy to a contest. We always hear the complaint that there are too few characters in elite sport, and Archer is definitely a character. He lights up a cricket match when he plays – with his natural enthusiasm, with his perpetual smile, and when he takes aim with his formidable fast bowling at 94mph.
The prediction here is that Jofra will be one of the sporting stars of 2019 and beyond.