All you need to know about Jofra Archer
Jofra Archer is the man who is striking fear into batsmen up and down England, but many ask who is he?
Born on April 1st, 1995 in Bridgetown, Barbados to a Bajan mother and an English father, he moved over to Sussex (on the south coast of England) after bowling at fellow Bajan and England international Chris Jordan, who told Sussex of his talents and they quickly snapped him up.
However, it wasn’t all rosy when he first came to the UK aged 18 as he had suffered a back injury in Barbados before arriving and was forced to bowl slow off-spin for Sussex league side Middleton. The positive result of this, however, was that it made him concentrate on his batting and he now averages 35.80 in first-class cricket.
In 2017, he played in the Big Bash for the Hobart Hurricanes and he impressed with his seriously quick bowling, hard-hitting batting and his athleticism in the field. He impressed so much that he was sold in the IPL auction to the Rajasthan Royals for £800,000, where he had a good season, picking up 15 wickets at an economy of 8.32.
Archer has declared he wants to play for England and not the place of his birth. However, he will have to wait a further 4 years until the winter of 2022 at the earliest for this to currently occur.
England though has a lot to look forward to, with one element lacking in the English bowling attack in the winter against Austrailia and New Zeland was – pace.
Archer certainly isn’t lacking in that department. His ability to bowl at an impressive 95MPH was shown in the English T20 Blast recently this summer. He has a touch of Michael Holding about him, gliding in with minimal effort but then releasing a thunder-bolt, leaving the batsman at the other end wondering what has just crashed into his middle stump.
He is in good hands at Sussex, partnered with fellow express fast bowler and England international Tymal Mills. Who will no doubt help him understand both the art of fast bowling and the toll on the body, as well as how to look after himself to keep himself fit.
Which is all too relevant to Tymal Mills who suffered a very serious back injury due to the stress and strain of fast bowling. Doctors said he wouldn't be able to bowl again, but he has proved them wrong, although he now solely plays T20 cricket.
England has a lot to look forward to in the years ahead with Jofra Archer. There is even talk of the ECB aligning their rules of player eligibility with the ICC which would mean him being able to play internationally for England as early as 2019; England holds it's breath in expectation.