Thirty minutes or so east of Bridgetown, past sugar cane fields, the Foursquare rum distillery, brightly painted chattel houses and down a road not dissimilar in nature to New York’s drop-in pitch sits Windward Cricket Club in the rural parish of Saint Philip.
It is a beautiful little ground that dates back to the 1970s – the club officially founded back in 1921 – and one of the training bases for this T20 World Cup, just a stone’s throw from Jofra Archer’s family home. Archer, sleeping in his own bed for this leg of the tournament, was among the first England players to arrive at nets on Thursday and feeling relaxed enough to chat now that a 14-month break from international cricket is over.
All eyes are naturally on Saturday’s encounter with Australia at Kensington Oval but, after such a long spell on the sidelines, the 29-year-old is not really fussed what country the batter in his sights is representing. The rain that washed out Archer’s initial homecoming against Scotland two days earlier was unfortunate but not enough to dampen his day as children from his old school, Foundation, sat in the stands.
“I had a little bit of water in my eye and it wasn’t the rain,” said Archer, who sent down two overs before the points were shared. “The prime minister [Mia Mottley] invited us up to her box when it got cancelled and said she pretty much cancelled school, and Chris Jordan’s old school [Combermere], so the kids could come and watch us. It was really, really emotional. I felt really supported. It felt unbelievable.”
While believing himself to be fully fit by last November, rid of the elbow stress fractures that had plunged his career into stasis, it was not until the comeback against Pakistan a fortnight ago that Archer knew everything was OK. Terrorising club players is one thing – imagine walking out to see Archer stood at the top of his mark – but the final “10% intensity” of international cricket was the true acid test.
In that time out, rehabbing in Barbados amid regular and no doubt fought-over visits by members of England’s medical team, Archer found comfort in the bulldogs he breeds. He also has two pet parrots, Jesse and James (apparently a reference to Pokémon), who he has trained to sit on his shoulders. Getting them to speak may not be possible – “they’re not like macaws” – but they make a right old racket.
That din is fine, other noise less so. A sensitive soul but one who likes to use social media, Archer had to learn to block out comments regarding the repeat renewals of his central contract during an injury-hit four years. This has been a fair old investment by England, one that runs into seven figures, but given his pace, his skill, and that awkward wicket-to-wicket line that makes his bouncer so nasty, the upside is clear.
“Sometimes you feel like a burden not playing,” Archer said. “And I’ve seen a few comments, people saying he’s on the longest paid holiday they’ve ever seen. You try to not let it get to you. You can ignore 100 of them but sometimes that 101st is the straw that breaks the camel’s back. I’ve changed a lot of my social media stuff just so I don’t see a lot, but a little always filters through. You’ve just got to keep going.”
These are clearly still early days and while England’s next opponents, Australia, bring back memories of that golden first summer in international cricket in 2019, including that stirring arrival in the Ashes, Test cricket is not on the agenda this year.
Instead, it is white-ball only for now, the Hundred in August and the visit of Australia at the end of the season, before a limited-overs tour of India in early 2025 and the Champions Trophy that follows. Only then will Archer look to build towards the India Test series that summer, before thoughts turn to the Ashes tour of 2025-26.
Archer said: “I’ve got a pdf file of every single game I’m supposed to play from now till next summer. They’ve planned out almost everything. Probably the only thing they haven’t planned is the showers I take. I’m just glad to be back and hopefully back for a while.”
Amen to that.
