Jofra Archer ruled out of Test series against New Zealand

Jofra Archer, the England fast bowler, has been ruled out of the upcoming Test series against New Zealand. The development was put forth by the England and Wales Cricket Board on Sunday, May 16. The tour starts on May 25 with a practice match in Taunton followed by the two Tests at the Lord’s Cricket Ground in London and the Edgbaston in Birmingham.

As far as Archer is concerned, he sustained an elbow injury during Sussex’s match against Kent in the ongoing county championship. The speedster bowled only five overs in the second innings. He returned to action for his domestic team and picked up two wickets in the first innings. The Barbados-born didn’t bowl in the final two days of the encounter.

Another setback for Jofra Archer

“The England and Sussex medical teams will now seek guidance, and Archer will see a medical consultant later this week to determine the next course of action on the management of his elbow,” said the ECB media release, reported by Cricbuzz.

Earlier, Archer couldn’t take part in the T20I series against India that took place back in March. The pacer developed a hand injury and underwent surgery to remove a piece of glass. Thereafter, he went through the rehabilitation process and missed the first few games of the county championship.

To add insult to injury, he was ruled out of the 2021 edition of the Indian Premier League. The youngster was set to play for the Rajasthan Royals in the tournament. Back in 2020 when RR finished at the bottom of the points table, Archer got the award for the Most Valuable Player.

In 2021, the Royals, led by Sanju Samson, preferred Bangladesh’s Mustafizur Rahman as their specialist fast bowler. However, with the IPL now being postponed for an indefinite period of time, Archer has every chance of recovering from his elbow injury and play in the remaining games.

Archer made his debut for England back in 2019 and played in the World Cup as well in the same year. In the 2019 Ashes, he also got Australia’s Steve Smith concussed after hitting him on the helmet. The seamer has been an integral force for the Brits in all three formats.