Jofra Archer in action© AFP
England will continue with their policy of taking a cautious approach with the workload management for Jofra Archer in their upcoming five-match ODI series against Australia. Archer bowled just 3.3 overs in a rain-affected T20I series against Australia, ending on level terms at 1-1. The 29-year-old has been slowly integrated into England's set-up since recovering from his elbow injury. In 2024, he played two T20Is against Pakistan. He went on to feature in England's all-eight games in the T20 World Cup.
He went on to miss the second half of the Blast group stages for Sussex. Even in the Hundred, he was rested twice during the tournament.
Since the conclusion of the Hundred, he has only played twice. His first appearance came for Sussex in the quarter-final of the T20 Blast. In his second match, he featured for England during their 1st T20I loss against Australia.
He was rested for the second T20I and was likely to play in the third T20I, but the game was washed away by rain.
"Jofra will have to be managed throughout the series. He's played a really good stint now of T20 cricket, but obviously, you can only bowl four overs in there. There's a jump in intensity getting loads up to taking a full part in an ODI - and of course, as an England fan, to push those loads up hopefully to get back into the Test arena as well," Jos Buttler told Sky Sports.
With the five-match 50-over series set to begin on Thursday, the 29-year-old pacer's appearances will be one of the talking points.
He was named in England's 15-man squad for the highly-anticipated series. Archer hasn't played an ODI match in more than 18 months. He made his last ODI appearance in Chattogram against Bangladesh in March 2023.
England's interim coach, Marcus Trescothick, revealed that Archer was "comfortable" with the England and Wales Cricket Board's (ECB) long-term plan to manage his workload.
"He knows the plan. It's discussed long in advance of picking the team on each day. We know what we're doing with him, and where we're going. He's comfortable: he knows what he's doing," Trescothick said.
"That's a bigger structure, in terms of what we're trying to do with Jofra. You come into the series knowing what we've got and what we can do with him. That's an agreed plan between the coaches, directors, physios, and all the different people. We'll still be managing him [in the ODIs] - exactly the same thing," he added.
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