England vs India: Jofra Archer to wait for comeback…

England vs India: Jofra Archer to wait for comeback with hosts unchanged for second Test

Wait goes on: Jofra Archer has not played Test cricket for England since February 2021 - (Steve Welsh/PA Wire)

Jofra Archer will not make his long-awaited England return in the second Test against India.

The fast bowler was added to the Test squad for the first time in four years last week after impressing on his comeback to red-ball cricket with Sussex in their draw against Durham in the County Championship, having struggled with repeated injury issues.

Archer - who has not played Test cricket since the tour of India in February 2021 after a succession of elbow, back and thumb problems - missed training with England on Monday due to a family emergency, though is expected to return on Tuesday and not rejoin Sussex for the remainder of their four-day game against Warwickshire at Hove.

However, he will not play in the second Test that starts at Edgbaston on Wednesday after England made no changes to the team that secured a famous victory at Headingley last week, with Jacob Bethell, Sam Cook and Jamie Overton once again missing out.

Chris Woakes retains his place on his home ground in the pace attack, alongside Brydon Carse and Josh Tongue.

Archer will instead hope to feature in the third Test at Lord’s that begins on July 10, with Sussex coach Paul Farbrace having previously advised England to wait for that match and be cautious with his fitness after he only bowled 18 overs at Chester-le-Street.

India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate said on Monday that star bowler Jasprit Bumrah is “available” for the second Test, but insisted they had yet to decide if he would play at Edgbaston as his workload is managed following a back injury.

Akash Deep seems likely to join Prasidh Krishna and Mohammed Siraj in a weakened pace attack if Bumrah does not play, with no place for Arshdeep Singh.

Ten Doeschate also said that all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy has a “very good chance” of playing in the second Test as India look for more batting firepower, likely in place of Shardul Thakur.

India also look set to introduce a second spinner into their bowling attack alongside Ravindra Jadeja, either Kuldeep Yadav or Washington Sundar.

England took a 1-0 lead in the five-match series last week after an all-time great innings from opener Ben Duckett, whose incredible 149 runs off only 170 balls saw Ben Stokes’ side successfully chase down a target of 371 to win by five wickets on a tense final day in Leeds.

After the second Test at Edgbaston, the series moves on to Lord’s next week before the fourth Test at Old Trafford starts on July 23. The fifth Test begins at The Oval on July 31.