England white-ball head coach Matthew Mott revealed that the England team management is willing to take the risk of considering injury-prone Jofra Archer for the ODI World Cup in India, as he can be a game-changer for the team in the marquee event.
The 28-year-old had not played for England in almost two years before making a comeback for the team in South Africa earlier this year. After suffering elbow and back problems, Archer missed 17 months of action before making his comeback to international cricket in January as his return was short having injured himself during the IPL 2023.
Speaking about Jofra Archer’s return to the England team for the ODI World Cup, Matthew Mott said that they would take the risk to bring him to the mega event in India and revealed that the team will be open to discussion about his role in the team going into the World Cup.
“There is a high chance that we will take a risk on a proven performer that has done it on the world stage. We are planning for him to be available. Obviously, a lot of things have to go his way and it will be a tight timeline but with players like that you are going to give them every opportunity to prove their fitness, and so we will keep an open mind,” Matthew Mott said.
It Would Be A Big Ask For Him To Play Every Game – Matthew Mott
“It would be a big ask for him [Archer] to play every game, so we would have to target specific ones, but we are big on ball speed for India, we feel like that’s a really important asset for us to have out there and it will be good to see Mark Wood, who had such an impact in the Ashes, do the same with the white ball,” Matthew Mott added.
Jofra Archer was the key player for England in their title-winning campaign in the 2019 ODI World Cup as he picked up 20 wickets in 11 games was the highest wicket-taker for England and can be a vital player for England’s side going into the ODI World Cup 2023.