Archer awarded central contract

LONDON – England’s World Cup hero, Barbadian Jofra Archer, has been awarded a central contract by the England and Wales Cricket Board.

The 24-year-old fast bowler will be on an increment contract for the next 12 months, as he attempts to clinch a regular place in the England squad across all formats.

Increment contracts are awarded to players who have impressed in the white ball format but yet to assert themselves in any of the formats.

Archer has played a single Twenty20 International and 14 One-Day Internationals, with the bulk of the latter coming during the just concluded World Cup here.

He snatched an England-record 20 wickets at an average of 23 to lead his side’s attack in the tournament, and bowled the dramatic Super Over in a nerve-jangling final against New Zealand at Lord’s last Sunday.

However, Archer was yesterday left out of the 13-man England Test squad to face Ireland starting in a week’s time because of a left side strain.

He was not considered for selection along with fellow speedster Mark Wood who has been ruled out for up to a month-and-a-half with an identical injury.

The ECB said Archer would take a break in his native Barbados before returning to England later this month, where he is expected to be a strong contender for the Ashes series.

Archer is yet to play a Test for England.

In fact, he only made his international debut 2-½ months ago, after the ECB amended its eligibility criteria, reducing the wait period from seven years to three years.

Archer was born and raised in Barbados to a British father, and represented West Indies Under-19s in a handful of matches back in 2013.

After not being selected for the 2014 Under-19 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates, Archer turned his attention to representing England.

He currently has a County contract with Sussex.