Jofra Archer has said that he is feeling ‘fine’ about his fitness following a successful outing in the County Championship for Sussex. The England fast bowler had missed the Indian T20 League for Team Rajasthan due to elbow and finger injuries.
However, he bowled 13 overs for figures of 2/29 against Kent on Thursday as he looked to gauge his fitness ahead of the Test series against New Zealand in June.
“My fitness is fine, I thought I bowled okay,” Archer said of his first County Championship game for Sussex in close to three years. “I played in the (Sussex) second team last week and it's good to get some confidence and I felt fine. I bowled in short spells for protection in case we had a long day but it was overcast, which helped a bit. There was a bit of management, but it all worked out.”
Archer featured for England on the India tour in February and March but had to have surgery thereafter to remove a piece of glass from the middle finger of his bowling hand, a fallout of a cut suffered while cleaning at his home earlier this year.
His long-standing elbow injury also required an injection, leading to him being confined to only light training activity with Sussex while the Indian T20 League was on.
The pacer said he was looking to gain more match-time before turning out for England again. “With the [elbow] injury I have tried not to get too frustrated," Archer said.
"If I'm fit, I guess I will play in the Test series (against New Zealand) and I feel alright. I would ideally have another game next week but we're off and then we play Northamptonshire. I don't know what the plan is but I'd be happy to play again before the Test series. I'd be happy to go into the bubble again."
If he is eventually deemed fit enough to sustain a Test-match workload, Archer will be expected to be a key part of England’s pace attack for the two-match series against New Zealand, which will be followed by a five-Test series against India, starting in August.
Featured Image: AFP/ Jewel Samad
