The England cricket team has received a major boost ahead of this year's ODI World Cup in India. According to an ICC report, former England assistant coach Paul Farbrace has said that the star pacer Jofra Archer is on track to return from a long injury hiatus and is likely to play in the World Cup. Archer was a crucial factor in England winning the 2029 World Cup, when they beat New Zealand in the title clash. Archer claimed 20 wickets and was among the leading wicket-takers.
But Archer has been dealing with injuries. Though the 28-year-old pacer featured in white-ball tours of South Africa and Bangladesh in early 2023, a back injury in May saw him miss the ongoing Ashes series against Australia.
"He is going well," Farbrace told BBC Radio 5 Live, according to an ICC report. "I think he is on course for the World Cup, which is fantastic news." Farbrace coaches Archer at County side Sussex.
However, Farbrace had a word of caution too. "He is going nicely," Farbrace said. "I think England will need to work out how to get the best out of him over the next few years if he is to go to that next Ashes series (in 2025)."
Meanwhile, former New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum believes international boards would be "completely naive" to assume players would turn down lucrative offers from T20 leagues to play for their country. McCullum, who is currently the head coach of England's Test team, believes the cricketing landscape is rapidly changing and that the time is not far away when several players will opt for lucrative T20 leagues, instead of central contracts. His comments came amid reports suggesting that IPL teams are in talks with a number of English cricketers, including Jofra Archer, to sign annual deals.
"In the end, the game is going in a different direction. The last few years, there's been a shifting of the sand somewhat around international cricket. We'd be completely naive to think that players would turn down huge amounts of money on longterm contracts for a lot less work in these T20 leagues because they should be playing international cricket," McCullum told SEN Radio.
