England pacer Jofra Archer will be given an opportunity to prove his fitness for the second Ashes Test against Australia in a T20 Blast for Sussex on Friday as well as a Second XI game for the county outfit on Tuesday.
The Barbados-born pacer had been named in the England’s 14-man squad for the first Ashes Test but he failed to make the cut for the playing XI due to concerns over his fitness.
Archer will now participate in Friday’s T20 Blast clash against Kent before taking part in a Second XI Championship game against Gloucestershire starting on Tuesday in order to prove his fitness.
The 24-year-old pacer has had a rousing start to his England career and was instrumental in the side’s maiden World Cup title-winning campaign by chipping in with 20 wickets.
He will now hope to make his Test debut for England in the second Ashes clash at Lord’s which gets underway on July 14.
“Jofra is coming back from quite a serious injury England skipper Joe Root had said on Thursday while explaining the pacer’s omission from the playing XI for the Edgbaston Test.
“We looked at conditions and made a decision on what we thought would best take 20 wickets here. It also gives him time to get absolutely ready and fit to make sure he has his workloads up and ready to go for later in the series if he needs to make an impact.
“His fitness will be monitored throughout the week. It’s important that he’s ready to go to offer something different.”
