England fast bowler Jofra Archer is in upbeat mood after coming through successive one-day internationals against Australia, although the express quick remains wary after years of injury turmoil.
Archer, 29, has been plagued by persistent elbow trouble since starring in England's victorious 2019 50-over World Cup campaign and that year's ensuing Ashes series.
But such is the Barbados-born paceman's talent that England have kept faith with Archer while devising a carefully managed plan for his return as an all-format international.
While the gruelling demands of Test cricket remain off the agenda for the time being, Archer did feature at the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean in June and is now back in England's 50-over squad as well.
This week marked an important staging post, with Archer featuring in back-to-back ODIs for the first time since 2020 as England drew level at 2-2 in a five-match series against world champions Australia ahead of Sunday's finale in Bristol.
He showed he had lost none of his pace or skill during a return of 2-33 in seven overs when troubling Australia's top-order at Lord's on Friday.
But for Archer, just being back playing again is an achievement in itself. "I'm still on the park and we're almost approaching the end of the summer, so for me, that's a take," Archer told reporters. "I wanted to play a summer, and then I want to play a year, and then I want to play a few years. So everything is going to plan."
England would dearly love to have Archer available as one of a cohort of fast bowlers for a 2025/26 Ashes tour of Australia, even though it is now more than three years since he played the last of his 13 Tests.
Archer, however, refuses to look too far ahead, with a return to the West Indies for ODI and T20 series in October and November his immediate target. afp
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