Courtesy: ECB
On Thursday, June 26, England announced their 15-member squad for the second Test of the five-match series, being played for the newly launched Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy at home this summer against the Indian cricket team. In a major boost to the English squad, Jofra Archer, the 30-year-old fast bowler, has been picked for the first time in the national team in the Test format after a long wait of four years for the second match of the series against India, starting on Wednesday, July 2, at Edgbaston in Birmingham.
After playing his last Test match for England, which coincidentally happened against India at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad in February 2021, Jofra Archer wasn’t a part of the Test squad due to multiple injuries, most prominently of his right-arm and back. He has played 13 Test matches in his career, taking 42 wickets at an average of 31.04 and at an economy of 2.99 with best figures of 6/45 against Australia.
Jofra Archer proved his fitness during first outing in County Championship for Sussex in over four years
In his recent outing for Sussex, the first-one in red-ball cricket in over four years, Jofra Archer bowled 18 overs against Durham at the Riverside Ground, registering figures of 1/32 with eight maiden overs, but the contest ended in a draw. After coming out relatively unscathed from the four-day County Championship match, he was immediately picked by the England selectors for the second Test, which is set to happen next week.
While it isn’t confirmed whether Jofra Archer will be drafted in the England playing XI for the Test match at Edgbaston in Birmingham next week against India, he is definitely expected to play a part in the remainder of the series. Apart from him, England have kept largely a similar squad when compared to the first Test at Headingley in Leeds, which they won by five wickets earlier this week.
Below is England’s 15-member squad for the second Test match against India:
Ben Stokes (c), Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope (wk), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith (wk), Brydon Carse, Sam Cook, Shoaib Bashir, Josh Tongue, Jofra Archer, Chris Woakes, Jacob Bethell, Jamie Overton
