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Jofra Archer makes encouraging return to England colours after long injury lay-off
Returning quick hits Zak Crawley on the helmet with a sharp bouncer in first over of comeback
No sooner had England's warm-up against England Lions begun at the Tolerance Oval in Abu Dhabi that proceedings were brought to an abrupt, jolting halt. The gasps emanating from both dugouts sat on the boundary's edge in front of the pavilion as Zak Crawley wore a vicious bouncer to the helmet was two-toned. Concern for the opener was a given. As was the tinge of excitement that it was Jofra Archer who landed the blow.
Archer was bowling in England kit for the first time since March 2021, opening the attack for the Lions in this three-day game. The purpose of as close to a competitive tune-up for the main squad ahead of their tour of Pakistan was primary, even if the Test XIII bullied their way to 501 for 7 in just 79 overs before calling it quits at 5pm, half an hour before the mooted close of play.
But gauging Archer's progress ahead of a managed return in the New Year was very much the focus of Wednesday. And across two controlled spells at the start of both the first and the second session - five overs, one maiden, 0 for 23; four overs, 0 for 15 - there were plenty of reasons for cautious optimism. Having ticked along well in the Lions camp in Dubai which began at the start of November, he arrived in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday with talk he was back to his brisk ways, to the extent that some of the Test batters were wary of what he might do to them in this bout. Crawley's blow was a realisation of those fears.
Archer's familiar shuffle and whipped wrist remain intact, suggesting the long-standing elbow injury and stress fracture of the back that has kept him out of competitive cricket since July 2021 continue to shrink in the rearview mirror. Best of all, an ECB speed gun on site clocked him at 90mph/145kph.
"They say you can add 3mph [5kph] to that," Crawley said, a few hours after his ears had stopped ringing and he had consulted teammates and coaches encouraged by Archer's output on the clock and in person. "So he's bowling good pace!
"When he pitches up, he's obviously still quick but he's nowhere near as quick when he's bowling short. Jof's bouncers certainly feel a lot quicker and I didn't really manage to get out of the way of that first one and that's just the way he is. He's got such a great wrist.
"He always bowls quick, Jof. He obviously got me in the first over and it won't be the last time I'm sure. He's a top bowler and it's good to see him back in the field."
Archer went short again in his third over of that opening burst, drawing a top edge from Crawley that flew over the fine-leg boundary for six. However, he steadied himself and strummed his way to 96 with some domineering strokeplay that had him unbeaten on 91 at lunch. Just as Crawley looked to be rounding on three figures, a risky single ended his stay. Archer was the man to strike, of course: on his toes at mid off to gather cleanly and throw down the stumps.
"I've just checked it there and it doesn't look out to me," protested Crawley, tongue in cheek. "It was certainly close, with the standing umpire adjudging the decision without being square onto the wicket. "He obviously thought it was out, he's the one that counts."
A full comeback for Archer could come in January, when England play three rearranged ODIs in South Africa. "I've watched him like everyone else and he's an excitement machine," Matthew Mott, England's white-ball coach, said on Tuesday. "We wish him well with his recovery: it's been going great, apparently. We'll definitely welcome him back."
A 69 not out in the final innings of a tumultuous Test summer for Crawley reinforced the belief the management have in him, and to see him operate in a similar, attacking manner some months later will no doubt fuel the idea he has turned a corner. "I feel in good touch at the moment," he said. "I feel good about my game and I finished the season well and I've carried that on.
"I had a good break which is important and I had an idea of how I wanted to play and the mentality that we're trying bat with here and I'm trying to buy into that a bit more and be positive. I've been trying to be positive, I think that's suited me well with getting in better positions."
Alex Lees, his top-order partner during the summer, was the one who eventually got the chop, overlooked for the tour of Pakistan with Ben Duckett and Keaton Jennings given the nod. That Duckett opened up - Jennings slotted in at No. 5 - reinforced that he is the preferred first choice. He managed 28 before flicking Tom Abell to square leg where Jack Carson took an excellent diving catch.
"It's good," said Crawley on the understanding he had with Duckett during their 16.5 overs and 78 runs together. "He's a lovely player and we're very different so it should work well. As long as we keep rotating strike, which he did really well today actually, then we're going to be quite hard to bowl to, I reckon, because he hits very different shots to me."
Crawley's dismissal only heralded more carnage for the Lions, as England's stand-in captain Ollie Pope peeled off an imperious 146. It was the statement knock in a card full of worthwhile contributions - barring Joe Root's 9 off 23, caught by Lions skipper Dan Lawrence at mid-on off Sussex offie Carson - the most notable being Will Jacks' devastating 84 from 48.
Liam Livingstone was carded in front of Jacks at No. 6, which gave an indication the Lancashire batting allrounder was ahead of him in the pecking order for the No. 8 slot up for grabs in Pakistan. Indeed, Livingstone played to type with 36 off 23, his first meeting with a red ball since September 2021 when Lancashire faced Warwickshire in the County Championship. But the calibre of Jacks' strokes and the devastation he brought to the end of day one was underpinned by the kind of command of a situation both Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum adore.
Both will no doubt be judged more harshly on their work with the ball over the next couple of days given the role they will need to adopt in the Test series. And they will now have more competition in the form of Rehan Ahmed, who was informed during the tea interval by McCullum that he had been drafted into the full Test squad for Pakistan.
The original idea was to potentially have the legspinning allrounder act as a glorified net bowler, ultimately spending the winter undergoing an apprenticeship of sorts. Now, he has an opportunity to break into the XI.
The 18-year-old from Leicestershire certainly did not do his immense talent and reputation justice with eight overs rinsed for 73 runs, with no wicket to polish those eye-watering figures. Nevertheless, as he walked off at the end to congratulations from his soon-to-be international team-mates, coaches and even director of men's cricket Rob Key; a productive first day closed with a feel-good story.
Jofra Archer is MI Cape Town's wildcard signing for SA20
Archer, who hadn't played competitively since July 2021 because of injuries, is currently playing for England Lions in Abu Dhabi
Jofra Archer looks set to return to competitive cricket in South Africa in January after becoming MI Cape Town's wildcard signing for the inaugural season of the SA20.
Archer, the leading wicket-taker and Super Over hero for England in their 2019 ODI World Cup triumph, has not played an international game since March 2021 because of a long-standing elbow issue, which was followed by a stress fracture of the lower back. He has spent the last two weeks in the UAE as part of an England Lions training camp and, on Wednesday, made an encouraging return to action in a three-day warm-up match against England's Test squad, hitting Zak Crawley in the head with a sharp bouncer in the first of nine threatening overs.
Archer was signed by Mumbai Indians in the last IPL auction for INR 8 crore [US$ 1.06 million approx. at the time] despite the franchise knowing he would be unavailable. He has, in fact, been retained for the 2023 season. And on Wednesday evening, he was unveiled as a wildcard signing by MI Cape Town - the SA20 franchise and Mumbai Indians are owned by the same group, Reliance.
The SA20 runs from January 10 until February 11, with a short break in late January for England's re-arranged ODI series in South Africa. Archer could make his return to international cricket in that series, especially if he can prove his fitness playing for MI Cape Town.
The wildcard system, which SA20 commissioner Graeme Smith said would "offer our teams an opportunity to add another world-class player to their squad", was formally unveiled by CSA on Monday. The only other franchise to announce a wildcard signing so far are Sunrisers Eastern Cape, who brought in Jordan Hermann, the uncapped South African batter. Wildcard players will have a minimum salary of Rand 175,000 [US$ 10,290 approx.], but their wages are not going to count towards teams' salary caps.
Archer will join his England team-mates Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone and Olly Stone at MI Cape Town, whose squad also includes Kagiso Rabada, Dewald Brevis and Rashid Khan.
Jadeja, Dayal ruled out of Bangladesh ODIs
Shahbaz, Sen called up as replacements; Jadeja's participation in Test series still unclear
Allrounder Ravindra Jadeja will not be available for the upcoming three-match ODI series in Bangladesh, as he is yet to fully recover from a knee surgery that he underwent in September.
Shahbaz Ahmed, the Bengal allrounder, has been named as Jadeja's replacement in the ODI squad that begins on December 4 in Mirpur. There's one other change, with Uttar Pradesh left-arm seamer Yash Dayal ruled out due to a lower back issue. He will be replaced by Madhya Pradesh fast bowler Kuldeep Sen.
Both Sen and Shahbaz were supposed to travel to New Zealand for the three-match ODI series beginning in Auckland on Friday. Now, they will miss that series and travel to Bangladesh instead.
Shahbaz has been in prolific form in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy, picking up 11 wickets in six matches at an economy of 4.87 across 51.2 overs. He has also contributed two half-centuries lower down the order with the bat. Sen, meanwhile, is the highest wicket-taker in the competition until the group stages, having picked up 18 wickets in six games, with a best of 5 for 36 against Punjab.
Jadeja's inclusion had been subject to fitness at the time of the squad announcement. If he isn't ready to line up for the two-Test series that follows, it's likely Uttar Pradesh left-arm spinner Saurabh Kumar could be included in the tour party.
Saurabh has been on the fringes of the national team since February last year, following excellent returns since the 2019-20 Ranji Trophy. He was more recently part of the India A squad against New Zealand, where he picked up nine wickets in the series to help the hosts to a 1-0 win. Prior to that, he played a key part in UP's run to the Ranji Trophy semi-final.
In all, across 12 Ranji Trophy games from two completed seasons, Saurabh has an impressive tally of 58 wickets. One of Saurabh's USPs, according to a member of the outgoing selection committee, is his ability to wheel away tirelessly and bowl long spells.
Jadeja, 33, had to leave India's Asia Cup campaign after the group stages to undergo surgery because of a long-standing knee injury. While India head coach Rahul Dravid initially hoped Jadeja might recover in time to play a part in India's T20 World Cup campaign, he ultimately missed the entire tournament.
It was not the first time Jadeja has been troubled by his right knee, as an injury to the same joint had forced him to miss the ODI leg of India's tour of the West Indies in July. He has since been undergoing rehab at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru.
Jadeja was eventually named in both the ODI as well as Test squads for the tour of Bangladesh, but will now miss at least the limited-over games, scheduled for December 4, 7 and 10.
Updated India squad: Rohit Sharma (capt), KL Rahul (vice-capt), Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Shreyas Iyer, Rahul Tripathi, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Shahbaz Ahmed, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Deepak Chahar, Kuldeep Sen.
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