Archer targets place on West Indies tour after becoming England eligible
Highly-rated fast bowler Jofra Archer will be eligible for England selection from next year after the qualification criteria was relaxed.
Archerwasborninbarbados to an English father but did not arrive in the United Kingdom until after his 18th birthday in 2015, necessitating a sevenyear residency period under the previous regulations.
Despite holding a British passport, that meant he would not have come into contention for England until the winter of 2022.
But the England and Wales Cricket Board announced the residency benchmark would be brought down to three years for British citizens from 1 January, 2019, as long as they had not played as a local in an overseas competition during that time. The move, designed to bring the ECB regulations closer to those of the International Cricket Council, has been welcomed by Archer, who has already set his sights on England’s tour to the West Indies early next year.
The 23-year-old has long coveted England recognition, and he tweeted: “It may or may not happen but I would love to debut in front of my family.”
Archer represented West Indies at Under-19s level but was overlooked for the agegroup World Cup four years ago and has since flourished on the county circuit with Sussex alongside fellow Bajanborn Chris Jordan.
He has enhanced his reputation on the Twenty20 circuit, however, playing a starring role for the Hobart Hurricanes as they reached the final of last year’s Australia’s Big Bash.
The Indian Premier League came calling earlier this year as he earned a bumper £800,000 contract with the Rajasthan Royals.
He duly proved his worth by finishing the tournament as the franchise’s leading wicket-taker.
Capable of exceeding 90mph, Archer is also a useful lower-order batsman and an athletic fielder, which should see him come into England’s thinking in all three formats.
The competition for places in England’s World Cup squad next summer is so fierce that he can only really be considered as a bolter but his availability gives the selectors a welcome headache. 0 Jofra Archer: Hoping for England call against Windies.