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[Saba Sports News] England’s management is being cautious with Jofra Archer due to his injury history. Archer played in the first T20I against Australia, where he took 2 wickets for 31 runs, but was rested for the second game in Cardiff.
The third match was rained out, giving him additional rest. Archer will not play all five ODIs against Australia either, as his workload is being carefully managed.
White-ball captain Jos Buttler, who is also missing the series due to a calf injury, explained, “Jofra will have to be managed throughout the series. He’s played a good stint of T20 cricket, but obviously, you can only bowl four overs in T20s. There’s a jump in intensity when it comes to ODIs, and as an England fan, you want to push those loads up to get him back in the Test arena as well.”
This approach is part of a long-term plan for Archer, who featured in every game of the T20 World Cup 2024.
To manage his fitness, he skipped the second half of the T20 Blast group stage and was carefully handled during The Hundred. England’s interim head coach Marcus Trescothick confirmed that Archer is aware and comfortable with the plan in place.
“He knows the plan. It’s discussed long before picking the team each day. We know what we’re doing, and he’s comfortable with it. There’s a bigger structure behind this, involving coaches, directors, physios, and others, to help Jofra get fitter. We’ll continue managing him during the ODIs,” said Trescothick.