Jofra Archer is poised to make his long-awaited comeback in the third Test against India this week, with Brendon McCullum, the England head coach, calling for Lord’s to deliver a pitch that has pace, bounce and sideways movement.
Archer joined the England squad at Edgbaston last week but the 30-year-old bowler was held back from what became a crushing 336-run defeat by Shubman Gill’s tourists. And now at 1‑1 in the series, England’s seam attack seems likely to be refreshed amid a strong hint from McCullum that this means Archer’s return.
McCullum said: “He will certainly be available for selection, and if you look at it our seamers have gone two Tests on the spin and we have got a short turnaround before we head down to HQ. We’ll let the dust settle on this one, but Jofra is looking fit, he’s looking strong, he’s looking ready to go, and he’ll come into calculations.”
As the scene of Archer’s electric debut during the 2019 Ashes – five wickets and a fearsome battle with Steve Smith that led to Australia’s master batter being subbed out of the match with concussion – Lord’s represents a poignant setting for his Test career to resume.
After a four-year absence triggered by elbow and lower back stress fractures, however, the great unknown is whether the bowler will be the same again. Since the last of his 13 Test caps in 2021, Archer has lived a diet of limited-over cricket and has played just one first-class match for Sussex this season.
McCullum said: “We all know what he’s capable of achieving in Test cricket and we hope that when the opportunity does arrive for him, he’s able to recapture that and also improve on what he’s been able to do already in that form of the game.”
The seamer to make way is another question, with arguably all three of England’s incumbent quicks – Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse and Josh Tongue – in need of a breather after being out-bowled by Akash Deep and Mohammed Siraj. India have also confirmed Jasprit Bumrah will “definitely” return, ramping up the challenge.
Whoever steps aside for Archer – and Jamie Overton and Gus Atkinson being part of the squad means more than one change is possible – McCullum wants Karl McDermott, the head groundkeeper at Lord’s, to produce a pitch “with a bit more pace, a bit more bounce, and maybe a little bit of sideways, hopefully”.
The subtext was some disappointment with the pitch at Edgbaston, even if McCullum admitted he and the captain, Ben Stokes, “got it wrong” when deciding to bowl first. “What we won’t do is react too strongly to it,” the New Zealander said. “We’re a team that likes to stay really level and we know we’ve got a big challenge in a few days’ [time].”
Away from the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, the International Cricket Council has confirmed the appointment of Sanjog Gupta as its new chief executive. As first revealed by the Guardian two months ago, the head of cricket at the ICC rights holder JioStar has replaced the outgoing Geoff Allardice after nearly four years in the role.
