New Delhi:
Jofra Archer's introduction to international cricket was a roller-coaster event. Having made a mark for Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League, Archer qualified to play for England during the series against Pakistan. A strong performance saw him been fast-tracked into the side for the World Cup. Archer produced some stunning spells and bowled with pace and accuracy to end with 20 wickets in the tournament, the most by an England bowler in the history of the World Cup. The tall, lanky pacer was tasked with bowling the super over during the final against New Zealand at Lord's and although the super over ended in a tie, England won the match as they had scored more boundaries.
Now, in an interview to BBC Sussex, Archer revealed that he had to battle excruciating pain on his knee and he had to take painkillers on a regular basis in order to go through the tournament. The England team management apparently wanted to rest Archer but losses to Sri Lanka and Australia in the middle of the campaign saw their knock-out chances dim and he had to play through the injury, which he sustained against Afghanistan at Old Trafford, Manchester.
It was pretty excruciating. I'm fortunate it's settled quickly. It was pretty bad. I couldn't do it without painkillers, which was from the Afghanistan game onwards. I couldn't get a week's rest in during the tournament because of how close the games were. I only ever needed a week to 10 days," Archer said.
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Archer was given a holiday and he visited Barbados as he recovered from his roller-coaster World Cup journey. He returned for England's domestic Twenty20 competition for Sussex where he picked 2/21 as the match against Surrey ended in a tie. However, with the Ashes around the corner, Archer is gearing up to what could be a fresh challenge with the red ball as England look to end their summer on the ultimate high by winning back the Ashes against Australia.
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"I'm just ready to go out there and show the guys what I can do with a red ball. I think my red-ball record is better than my white-ball record, so I just can't wait to get the opportunity," Archer responded.
England was boosted by a brilliant spell of 6/17 and 4/19 from Chris Woakes and Stuart Broad respectively as England decimated Ireland for 38 to win the one-off Test in Lord's and win the match by 143 runs. England had lost the previous Ashes Test series 0-4 in Australia while they have remained unbeaten at home against the Aussies since 2005.
