As the rain fell in Manchester, England closed the case on the Jofra Archer affair, with the fast bowler expected to be clear to play in Friday’s third Test against West Indies following a written warning and undisclosed fine for his trip to Hove at the start of the week.
Archer was dropped from the ongoing second Test and sent into a five-day isolation period at the team’s on-site hotel at Old Trafford on Wednesday evening, having let slip to a member of the support staff he had driven to his flat during the team’s travel day from Southampton on Monday.
Provided he now clears two additional Covid-19 tests – the first of which was on Saturday morning – and as long as five days of relative inactivity have not set him back physically, the 25-year-old will be free to rejoin his teammates and re-enter the selection thoughts of Joe Root and Chris Silverwood.
Ashley Giles, the director of England cricket, had previously said Archer’s breach of the strict biosecurity rules risked a “disaster” that could have cost the sport “tens of millions of pounds” in the event of the international summer being disrupted or even cancelled entirely. Come Friday evening’s disciplinary hearing, however, Giles had opted for a degree of clemency in response. Archer, who had already issued a public apology, was deemed to have shown sufficient remorse and learned his lesson, so the sanction was relatively light.
The fine, though not shared by the England and Wales Cricket Board, is understood to be worth the equivalent of his match fee and having already lost out on a payment of around £15,000, he is roughly £30,000 worse off than had he simply stuck to the agreed route and not turned on to the M27. For a cricketer who earns roughly £900,000 a year from his multi-format England contract, and has a deal worth a similar amount with Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League, missing out on a Test cap will likely have stung more.
The potential ramifications of going off-piste were once again spelled out to Archer but with a previously clear disciplinary record taken into account and an acceptance that players on both sides are operating under new and foreign rules, an additional suspension was deemed unnecessary.
The full reasons behind the detour have not been shared but it was confirmed Archer did meet a third party during “one or two hours” at his flat. This person, now confirmed not to be Sussex teammate Chris Jordan, who lives in the same block, tested negative for Covid-19.
The result left England confident the time Archer spent with his teammates after arriving in Manchester, but before disclosing the breach, posed a relatively low threat to the integrity of the bubble. Still, the protocols drawn up for the series – ones the West Indies head coach, Phil Simmons, had to observe after attending a funeral – have left Archer confined to his room. In the coming days he may emerge for some exercise on the outfield but this will be managed to ensure no contact with others.
Giles and Silverwood stressed on Thursday that the player’s mental wellbeing is a primary consideration and though he must remain in solitude members of the England squad have been in regular contact with him on WhatsApp or Zoom. Some have also joined him for a spot of online gaming on Xbox.
“We understand that it can be a very vulnerable and lonely place for him right now,” Ben Stokes, the vice-captain, told BBC Test Match Special. “Making sure that Jof is as happy as he possibly can be is the main thing for us. We need to do everything we can to make sure we keep him going.”
The desire to keep Archer upbeat is understandable, both on a human level and in terms of future performance. Since bringing their qualification rules in line with the rest of the world in 2019 – seven years of residency being cut to three – and thus fast-tracking the Barbados-born British passport-holder, English cricket now has one of the world’s most exciting fast bowling talents.
Just last Sunday Archer displayed these extravagant skills – and his vicious bouncer – during the first Test in Southampton. Though his three wickets on the final day were unable to prevent West Indies going 1-0 up in the series, the player who lit up the World Cup, and then felled Steve Smith during a breakout Ashes performance, appeared back to his eye-catching best.
It has not always been a smooth ride. In New Zealand before Christmas Archer struggled for impact with the red Kookaburra ball and two lifeless pitches, and earned a mild rebuke for commandeering a camera operator’s Segway before a day’s play. In South Africa he claimed his second Test five-wicket haul before the detection of a stress fracture in his elbow cut short that tour.
England found their handling of Archer during the winter in the spotlight, both in terms of the workloads demanded of him and some comments from Root about needing to unleash his 90mph-plus speeds more often, as if it was a case of simply flicking a switch.
It is fair to say both parties are still learning plenty about each other. But the hope now is that unlike Monday’s unscheduled visit to good old Sussex by the sea Archer and England are back travelling in the same direction.
