Jofra Archer has been named in an England Test squad for the first time in four years, but where he fits into their XI for the second Test against India is less clear.
Archer's injury setbacks which have kept him out of the Test team for so long are well documented. He made his debut in the second 2019 Ashes Test at Lord's, where he memorably hit Steve Smith on the head with a rapid delivery, giving him a concussion which kept him out of the following game. He took a five-for in the third Test of that series at Headingley, and finished the series with 22 wickets at 20.27.
However, his long term injury problems began to surface in 2021. He had two operations on his elbow that year which kept him out of action, and caused him to miss the 2022 IPL. In May 2022 he was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his back, and he missed England's T20 World Cup campaign later that year. After returning to international white-ball cricket in 2023, Archer has been slowly increasing his workload alongside the England medical team's plans. Those plans, which targeted this summer for his return to Test action, were briefly threatened when Archer entered the IPL auction for this year's tournament, facing a three-year ban from the competition if he didn't.
So far in his career, Archer has play 13 Tests and taken 42 wickets at 31.04. His last Test match was in February 2021 against India at Ahmedabad. His recall follows his first red-ball game for Sussex in over four years, during which he took one wicket but perhaps more importantly got through 18 overs in Sussex's only bowling innings. With Archer's workload now deemed sufficient to handle a Test match following that game, he was called up for the Test match at Edgbaston, which starts on Wednesday, July 2.
How could Archer fit into England's Test XI?
Despite the fanfare accompanying his long-awaited recall, it's unclear whether he will make England's playing XI. England won the first Test of the series in Headingley, Joe Root and Jamie Smith finishing the job in a thrilling chase. If England do select Archer, they will have to change a winning side.
The most likely way Archer will get into the final XI is to replace one of the three seamers from the Headingley Test. There were times during both innings at Headingley where England's bowling unit lacked control, and seemingly the potency to run through a stacked India batting card. Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant scored centuries in India's first innings, while Pant scored another in their second alongside KL Rahul's ton. All three of England's seamers: Chris Woakes, Josh Tongue and Brydon Carse went at more than four runs an over in the first innings.
The most like-for-like bowler Archer could replace is Tongue. Of the three seamers, however, Tongue blew India's tail away twice at Headingley and took seven wickets in the game. While Archer could likely do that same job, to drop Tongue after he took 4-7 to wrap up the first innings and then struck three times in four balls in the second would be a big call – especially after Tongue battled his own long-term injuries to get back in England's Test XI.
Sacrificing Woakes to get Archer back in also feels unlikely. Woakes offers control and is the leader of England's attack, taking the new ball and generating the most movement with it. England also look a far more well-balanced side with Woakes at No.8 than they would with Carse bumped up, and Archer, Tongue and Bashir at 9, 10 and 11.
The only other option would be to drop Carse to get Archer in, who was given the new ball at Headingley alongside Woakes. He dismissed three of India's top four in the second innings and looked threatening in that new-ball role. While all of England's pack struggled to make breakthroughs at points during the game, they all bowled well enough to label any of them being dropped as 'harsh'.
Whether that kind of call is justified is up to Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes, but if they decide it isn't, then it won't be the end of the world. There's another Test the following week at Lord's before which England can reassess, by which point they might be 2-0 up, and have more freedom with their selection. Archer has waited four years, but there would be worse things than waiting one more week for a homecoming at the place where it all began.
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