England pace bowler Jofra Archer has been forced to consider retirement (Picture: Getty)
Jofra Archer remains hopeful of returning for England’s T20 World Cup defence this summer, but admits he may be forced to consider retiring from cricket should his injury problems persevere.
The 29-year-old announced himself as one of the most devastating pace bowlers on the planet after playing a major role in England’s ODI World Cup triumph back in 2019, but has since been savaged by a series of injuries.
One of just a handful of three-format players for England, Archer missed the entirety of the 2022 English summer due to a serious back problem and was subsequently sidelined with a stress fracture in his elbow – meaning he has been absent from Test and first-class cricket since 2021.
After going under the knife in April 2023, Archer’s fifth surgery on his right elbow in two years, the Barbados-born quick was pictured bowling in the nets as he stepped up his recovery earlier this year.
However, England’s managing director of cricket, Rob Key, has confirmed the Sussex star will not even be considered for Test cricket until 2025 at the earliest.
Archer is targeting England’s T20 series against Pakistan at the end of May as a possible date for his comeback on the global stage, with hopes he could prove his fitness to feature at this year’s World Cup in the West Indies and the United States.
Speaking on The Athlete’s Voice podcast, Archer opened up on his injury hell and revealed he has even had to think about quitting the sport should he be faced with the prospect of yet another ‘stop-start’ year.
‘I haven’t played cricket for a whole 12 months as yet,’ Archer said.
The Sussex quick lasted played Test cricket in 2021 (Picture: Getty)
‘Last year I played from January to May. I think the year before that, I played maybe one or two games for Sussex, so you know I’ve had a whole year of nothing.
‘It’s been a while and honestly, I don’t know if I’ve got another stop-start year in me.
‘That’s the truth, I don’t know if I’ve got another one.’
England are preparing to defend their T20 World Cup crown this summer (Picture: Getty)
Though desperate to be a part of England’s T20 World Cup squad, Archer outlined his plan for a ‘worst-case scenario’ in which he fails to prove his fitness for the tournament.
‘Come June 1 I really do want to be in the team,’ he added.
‘I really do want to be playing back at home, in front of my family and probably in front of… I know it’s not dog friendly in the Caribbean as much as it is here in the UK, but I’d love my family and my dogs at that first game back.
‘The last two years have been really stop-start, so I just think that, you know, everyone’s gonna just take it a bit easy. If I’m ready then fine, happy days, but if I’m not they’re still supporting me.
‘I mean, worst-case scenario, I don’t really want to think about this, but even if I don’t make it to the World Cup for whatever reason, there’s still the T20 Blast, there’s still The Hundred.
‘There’s still cricket that I haven’t got a chance to play in the last couple of years, so as much as I want to play in the World Cup, if it doesn’t happen for whatever reason, at least I still know I could be somewhat active.’
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