BE GENTLE WITH JOF!

‘England must manage workload’

JOFRA ARCHER missed out on a mega IPL payday this year as a result of injury – but that absence could pay off big for England.

That’s the view of Paddy Upton, Archer’s former coach for the Rajasthan Royals.

England pace ace Archer made his return to action with Sussex in the County Championship on Thursday, following an injury lay-off.

It didn’t take long for him to settle in, taking two wickets – including his England teammate Zak Crawley – in his opening four overs against

Kent at Hove.

But with a huge year in front of him – including the

T20 World Cup and the

Ashes in Australia – Upton (right) believes that Archer still needs to be treated with kid gloves.

Upton said: “The IPL is incredibly emotionally and physically draining.

“The way it’s set up you’re having an awful lot of late nights – players leave with their mental, emotional and physical reserves pretty low.

“The added demands on someone like Jofra are huge too – interviews, engagements with sponsors and fans – so missing it means that he should be far fresher would have been the case.” As one of the few cricketers in the England Test side also playing in both white-ball formats, Archer’s workload is potentially very hefty.

Bowling a significant number of overs in the Test series against New Zealand and India this summer will be something that England will want to avoid.

But given his ability to change the course of a match with a devastating burst of speed, there will always be a temptation to throw him the ball. How long Archer continues in all three formats remains to be seen. Upton said: “He can play Test cricket and white-ball cricket for as long as he wants, if he’s preparing himself and England manage his workloads. “But the fact is that no one can play in all three formats season in, season out.

“The concept of resting players for periods of tours or missing tours completely is still relatively new.

“Countries are really finding their way in this area. But England are going to have to manage Jofra very carefully, particularly in the bio-bubble environment.

“He’s definitely one of the key men for England – batsman are just not comfortable against him, particularly on pitches with pace and bounce.”