Wood is not worried about Archer threat
MARK Wood is not letting the constant speculation about Jofra Archer keep him up at night - but admits the Sussex paceman will be a “worldclass” option for England.
Archer’s imminent availability has loomed large over the ongoing tour of the Caribbean, not only because he was born in Barbados and coveted by the West Indies but also because of the proximity to this summer’s World Cup.
Despite his limited experience in 50-over cricket, the 23-year-old’s star status on the global Twenty20 circuit and exciting brand of quick bowling have led a string of pundits to call for his inclusion in England’s squad for the tournament.
He will only become eligible under the England and Wales Cricket Board’s revised residency rules next month and, with squads due to be finalised by April 23, his inclusion would come before he had even taken the field for Eoin Morgan’s side. That leaves it up to the likes of Wood, Tom Curran and David Willey to make themselves undroppable in the last three matches of a series currently tied at 1-1.
“I think I am one of the guys under threat, but I would not say night and day I am up worried about Archer’s role,” said Wood after a 26-run defeat levelled the series in Bridgetown.
“It is not really talked about in the dressing room or anything like that.
“However, he is a world-class player and I would be stupid to think if I did not put in the hard yards that my place would not be up for grabs, because he bowls quick as well.
“They (the selectors) pretty much know everybody – Tom, David, myself – it is a pretty cemented group we have even without the likes of Sam Curran and Olly Stone, so we will just have to wait and see what they do.
“I am just going to continue with this bit of confidence.
“I have had some half-decent form to push my own case.”
Wood’s nod to “half-decent form” is an act of typical understatement from a player who has often worn his self-doubt more openly than most in his profession.
In fact, the 29-year-old Durham seamer appears to be in the midst of a dramatic renaissance.
He turned in a man-of-the-match performance on his Test recall in St Lucia earlier this month, including the fastest spell by an Englishman in at least a decade, and impressed with the new ball in the double header of one-day internationals in Bridgetown.
He returned figures of one for 38 from 10 overs in a losing cause on Friday but impressed with his pace, control and ability to find reverse swing at the death. If Archer does gatecrash the World Cup squad it will surely be as a team-mate of Wood rather than a replacement for him.