Exclusive: ‘Unplayable at His Best’ Jofra Archer Targets Test Return After IPL Revival

Jofra Archer's desire to return to Tests has extended his contract with the England and Wales Cricket Board until 2026. The fast bowler, who last ran in with the red ball in 2021, is preparing for a comeback through the rigours of the Indian Premier League. 

He could be ready for the longer format from the third Test against India at Lord's from July 10.

The five-match series starts on June 20 but then, Archer, who will miss the initial stage of the County Championship due to the IPL till May 25, may have to prove his red-ball prowess for Sussex in the June 22 and June 29 fixtures against Durham and Warwickshire respectively.  

Archer returned to white-ball cricket last year after nursing a series of elbow and back injuries. And after being wicketless, and the bowler with the most expensive spell (0/76) against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the history of the tournament, the 30-year-old Rajasthan Royals pacer staged a dramatic comeback with a wicket-maiden (1/13) against Chennai Super Kings, followed by a three-wicket haul (3/25) against Punjab Kings.

Pace for success

UK-based fast bowling coach Steffan Jones, who worked closely with Archer, felt the bowler is unplayable at higher speeds and there is no reason why he shouldn't play Test cricket.

The right-arm pacer bowled at 144 against Chennai and cranked it up to 148 against Punjab with a thunderbolt to rattle Shreyas Iyer's stumps. 

"Jofra is all about rhythm and coordination. He is a hip-dominant and tendon-driven bowler. It is about speed and rhythm. He has begun to find his rhythm and hitting his top speeds again. He touched near 150 in the last game, where he is at his best. He will get there. The margin of error increases when you try to add 10 km/hr but I wouldn’t worry about that as now he is pain-free," Jones told SportsBoom.com. 

Jones played 148 first-class matches as a seam-bowling all-rounder before turning to coaching. He runs Pacelab, a science-driven fast bowling program that trains bowlers and coaches.

He reasoned why Archer's interest in Test cricket is good news for both English and world cricket. 

"He is the best fast bowler in the world. When he is on song, people come out of the bars and food halls to see him bowl. He has the box office and X factor."

Why IPL will help Archer

Archer is in the middle of a high-pressure IPL, which involves travelling in the humid Indian summer. Jones, who has previously worked with Rajasthan, knows the challenges. He is hopeful the hard yard will prove beneficial for Archer. 

"He is bowling a lot at the nets, apart from bowling in high intensity in the high-pressure environment in the IPL. You can’t get better training and a better cricket university. The intensity with which he bowls there will be far higher than in Test matches."

"Once he discovers his rhythm, I would have no objections to him playing in Test matches. It doesn’t matter how many overs he bowled at the Champions Trophy, nothing matches the IPL for the travelling, training and the quality of batters. The IPL is about picking the best players from all international teams," said the 51-year-old, who is currently working with Indian speedster Ishant Sharma.

"Jofra needs some games in Championship cricket for Sussex, but he shouldn’t reduce his speed. He needs to hit the 150 mark," said Jones, adding that the depleted bowling figure in the IPL against Hyderabad will not dent his confidence. 

"In T20s, you can get hit for a six and the next day, get a wicket off the same delivery. If Archer dwells on those figures, it will affect him. He is not that type of character."

Data and science-based training

Jones, keen to work with the Board of Control for Cricket in India at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru, highlighted that 40 per cent of the injuries in fast bowling happen in the matches as the training is not intense enough. 

"Too many bowlers search for volume, I call them empty balls. They repeat deliveries at nets thinking practice makes it perfect, but that is not fast bowling. It is about speed and intensity. You have 40 seconds of rest between each delivery, three minutes between each over and a two-hour rest between spells. Bowling in multiple-day cricket is not too different from T20. My module is based on data and sports science, it is not about volume and managing workload. We ensure bowlers can go flat out when required," he told SportsBoom.com. 

Jones has two Pacelab centres in the UK and three in the USA. One is coming up in South Africa. 

"I am on a mission to educate the coaches, and I am mentoring coaches around the world. Many bowlers are bowling quickly under my training. Currently, coaching fast bowlers is not about sharing playing knowledge. It is not a retirement plan, it is a profession that deserves more knowledge. I am in talks for a performance centre with Ishant in India soon. We already have four hubs in India where bowlers can get trained by coaches, who I have trained," he signed off.