Jofra Archer started his first red-ball match for England since 2021 on Thursday during the third Test against India at Lord’s, three years after Ben Stokes made a bet with Jonathan Agnew
Ben Stokes called in a bet with former England star Jonathan Agnew after Jofra Archer made his long-awaited return to Test cricket. Fast bowler Archer started his first match for England since 2021 at Lord’s on Thursday in the third Test against India.
A spate of injuries has denied the 30-year-old the chance to play in England’s new ‘Bazball’ era but captain Stokes was always confident that Archer would return to the fold one day. Agnew, however, was less convinced.
Following the last Ashes series in Australia which ended in January 2022, the fast bowler-turned-acclaimed commentator bet Stokes that Archer wouldn’t play another Test match for England. Now that the Sussex star has returned, Agnew stuck to his word and handed the England skipper a hat during an interview for the BBC.
“I’ll take my ‘I told you so’ moment from, what was it? Three years ago, Aggers?” Stokes said. “You remembered it which I was amazed by,” Agnew replied.
The Lord’s crowd will likely have to wait until Friday to see Archer bowl, though, as Stokes won the toss and chose to bat first. Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett kept India at bay until drinks but both batsmen lost their wickets in the same over, giving Ollie Pope and Joe Root the task of holding off Jasprit Bumrah and Co. either side of lunch.
READ MORE: South Africa captain leaves cricket fans torn after refusing chance to surpass Brian LaraREAD MORE: Brendon McCullum admits Ben Stokes got it wrong in crushing India defeat
But when it is England’s turn to bowl, Stokes will be delighted to see Archer charging in. “It’s been exciting to have him back in the squad and now we can say he’s back in the playing XI, it’s a pretty great day,” the England captain told a pre-match media conference.
“Jof can be pretty proud of himself that he’s managed to get himself back here after two pretty big injury scares. The way he’s handled the injury setbacks over that period has been very commendable. It’s been a long time coming for him and it’s great for English fans.”
Archer has only played one red-ball match since 2021, as he featured in Sussex’s recent County Championship clash with Durham. The Barbados-born paceman joined up with the England squad ahead of the second Test at Edgbaston, where he watched from the pavilion and carried drinks.
Was it the right decision to recall Jofra Archer? Have your say in the comments section.
Wednesday saw the news that Archer had been selected in England’s XI for the third Test and Stokes is adamant that he’s ready to play five-day cricket. “I don’t think there’s any reason we can’t see Jofra Archer operating at a level that we saw here at Lord’s on his debut,” Stokes continued.
“It’s obvious whenever he does get the ball in his hand there is a change in the game. The opposition feel it as well because they know what he can do in a spell. If we did not think he was ready, or in a position to be selected, he would not be selected. We think he’s done enough to be able to get through a Test match.
“Of course, whenever you take the field you are always putting yourself at risk. It’s a professional sport, it’s a very physical sport. We all know potentially stuff could go wrong, but we would not select someone if we didn’t think they could get through it.”
