Jofra Archer makes first-class cricket comeback

Barbados-born England cricketer Jofra Archer has returned to first-class cricket for the first time in four years.

Archer is currently in action for his club Sussex against Durham in the County Championship Division One match, which began on Sunday morning.

Archer last played four-day cricket in May 2021 before undergoing surgery for a persistent right elbow injury.

Since then, a number of back and elbow injuries have kept Archer away from red-ball cricket, with him only playing One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) for the national side.

Just a few weeks ago, the 30-year-old was scheduled to make a red-ball comeback for the England Lions (A team) against India A, but a thumb injury, suffered during this year’s Indian Premier League (IPL), did not heal in time.

Archer’s last Test match came in February 2021 in India, England’s opponents in the ongoing first Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar home series.

England remain hopeful of Archer’s presence at some stage in the five-match Test series, especially after their pace attack looked tepid in the first innings in which India amassed 471. (RW)