SM
Barcelona vs. Brann: 1 hr 12 mins
Upcoming predictions and previews

England

Jofra Archer edges closer to England debut after ECB relax eligibility criteria

:Headline: Jofra Archer edges closer to England debut after ECB relax eligibility criteria: ID:342862: from db_amp
The fast bowler could be a surprise selection for next year’s World Cup.

Highly-rated fast bowler Jofra Archer will become available for England selection in the first few months of next year after the eligibility criteria was relaxed.

Archer was born in Barbados to an English father but he did not arrive in the United Kingdom until after his 18th birthday in 2015, necessitating a seven-year residency period under the previous regulations.

Despite holding a British passport, that meant he would not have come into contention for England until the winter of 2022.

But the England and Wales Cricket Board announced the residency benchmark would be brought down to three years for male and female British citizens from January 1, 2019 – as long as they had not played as a local in an overseas competition during that time.

The move, designed to bring the ECB regulations closer to those of the International Cricket Council, has been welcomed by Archer, who set his sights on England’s tour to the West Indies early next year.

The 23-year-old has long coveted England recognition, and he tweeted: “It may or may not happen but I would love to debut in front of my family.”

However, Sussex later revealed that he is “likely to qualify for England at some point in March 2019” – almost certainly ruling him out of the trip to the Caribbean spanning from mid-January to mid-March.

Archer represented West Indies at Under-19s level but was overlooked for the age-group World Cup four years ago and has since flourished on the county circuit with Sussex alongside fellow Bajan-born Chris Jordan.

He has enhanced his reputation on the domestic Twenty20 circuit, however, playing a starring role for the Hobart Hurricanes as they reached the final of last year’s Big Bash in Australia.

The Indian Premier League came calling earlier this year as he earned a bumper £800,000 contract with the Rajasthan Royals, and he duly proved his worth by finishing the tournament as the franchise’s leading wicket-taker.

Capable of exceeding 90mph, Archer is also a useful lower-order batsman and an athletic fielder, which should see him come into England’s thinking in all three formats.

The competition for places in England’s World Cup squad next summer is so fierce that he can only really be considered as a bolter but his availability gives them a welcome headache.

Jofra Archer is also a handy lower order batsman (Anthony Devlin/PA)

The rule change was agreed at an ECB board meeting, where the playing conditions for the controversial flagship 100-ball competition set to launch in the summer of 2020 were endorsed.

A new format being added to an already crowded fixture list has sharply divided opinion but the eight-team competition – which was tentatively titled ‘The Hundred’ – has moved a step closer to fruition.

Several pilot days at the back end of last season at Loughborough and Trent Bridge were commissioned in an effort to fine-tune the concept.

And an ECB statement on Thursday said: “The Cricket Committee recommendation for playing conditions in the new competition – agreed by the Board – is for; each innings to be 100 balls, a change of end after every 10 balls and an individual bowler able to deliver either five or 10 consecutive balls with a maximum of 20 per game.”

amp_article__342862 : Database Data restored...  : 
last updated article - 2018-11-29 16:29:42:
html db last update - 2021-02-21 08:36:32 :

ex - 7200 : read : read cache amp html

Click here for more stories about Jofra Archer

Click here for more stories about England

Share this article now:
Read more about England Cricket
Recommended Next on SM
Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Arsenal28204470244664
2Liverpool28197265263964
3Manchester CityMan City28196363283563
4Aston Villa29175760421856
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs28165759421753
6Manchester UnitedMan Utd28152113939047
7West Ham UnitedWest Ham2912894650-444
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton2811985044642
9Wolverhampton WanderersWolves28125114244-241
10Newcastle UnitedNewcastle281241259481140
11Chelsea27116104745239
12Fulham29115134344-138
13Bournemouth2898114152-1135
14Crystal Palace2878133348-1529
15Brentford2975174154-1326
16Everton2887132939-1025
17Luton TownLuton2957174260-1822
18Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest2967163551-1621
19Burnley2945202963-3417
20Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd2835202474-5014
Scroll for more - Tap for full version


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.



. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .