I wouldn’t rule anything out, says Ed Smith on Jofra Archer's chances of playing for England

The ambiguity surrounding the possibility over whether Jofra Archer would represent England just keeps on rolling. The Barbados-born all-rounder is one of the hottest properties in world cricket right now. After impressing in England’s domestic circuit, he further enhanced his reputation by impressing in the Big Bash League (BBL) and the Indian Premier League (IPL).

And while it is more or less a matter of time before he plays for England, the question that is bothering the cricketing world is ‘when?’ Recently, the speculations were rife that Archer would soon turn up for England after the ECB announced a change to its eligibility criteria – from seven years to three –  last month.

Under the previous ECB regulations, Archer would have become eligible to represent England after serving a seven-year residency qualification. Consequently, he would have become available to England in 2022. However, the recent change has raised hopes that he might play for the Brits sooner than expected. Archer has been plying his trade for English county Sussex since 2015.

ECB’s new rule will come into force on January 1, 2019, which raised hopes that Archer might be on the plane for England’s full-fledged series in the Caribbeans early next year. However, for the time being, one has to wait to see Archer don the England jersey as he could not find a spot in the Test or the ODI squad.

Ed Smith clears the air on Archer

England’s national selector Ed Smith insisted Jofra Archer’s name did not come up as his panel announced the squads on Monday. England selectors showed faith in the side that whitewashed Sri Lanka 3-0 in Tests. Smith made it clear that since Archer was not available at the moment, his panel did not discuss on the possibility of including him in the team.

“As it stands now, Jofra Archer was not available so we did not consider him for selection. As a selector, you try and keep things as simple as you possibly can: who is available? Of those available, what’s the strongest possible squad. If there are other players that become available and we think they’re worth of consideration, we would consider them. Smith further said that he has not ruled out the possibility of picking Archer in England’s World Cup squad.

“To be honest with you, I wouldn’t rule anything out. I don’t really believe in ruling things out. When a decision comes up, just attend to it with as much focus and clarity as you can. Try and get the decisions right one by one,” he said. England, meanwhile, will play three Tests, five ODIs and three T20Is against the Windies. The Test series will kickstart England’s long tour in the Caribbean.

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~Written by Bijoy