ENGLAND star Jofra Archer could be forced to retire if his injury problems persist.
The fast bowler played a key role in England’s 2019 World Cup triumph and the subsequent home Ashes series, but injuries have limited his game time in recent years.
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Archer has not played in a Test or first-class match since 2021 and has only featured for England in white ball cricket, with his last appearance coming in May 2023 against Bangladesh.
A stress fracture in his back kept him sidelined in 2022 while Archer spent last year recovering from two surgeries on a stress fracture in his elbow, which cut short his time playing for Mumbai Indians in the IPL.
Archer, 29, admitted he is unsure if he is able to cope with another stop-start campaign, which could mean he quits the sport.
He said: “I haven’t played cricket for a whole 12 months as yet.
“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 travel to the US and Caribbean this summer for the T20 World Cup – a tournament Barbados-born Archer is hoping to be fit for.
But with England also hosting games against Pakistan and Australia in limited overs cricket this summer, as well as West Indies and Sri Lanka in Tests, there is plenty of opportunity for Archer to return to the field.
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Test
West Indies
First Test – July 10-14
Second Test – July 18-22
Third Test – July 26-30
Sri Lanka
First Test – August 21-25
Second Test – August 29 – September 2
Third Test – September 6-10
ODI
Australia – September 19, 21, 24, 27, 19
T20
Pakistan – May 22, 25, 28, 30
Australia – September 11, 13, 15
T20 World Cup
Scotland – June 4
Australia – June 8
Oman – June 13
Namibia – June 15
He added: “Come June I really do want to be in the team.
“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.”
