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Archer ruled out of NZ Tests with elbow injury

Flare-up of long-sanding injury in county return will sideline star seamer as Joe Root casts an eye to next summer's Ashes

Jofra Archer has been ruled out of next month's Test series against New Zealand because of his long-standing elbow injury, as captain Joe Root admits England already have one eye on next summer's Ashes series.

Archer's availability for England's hectic upcoming schedule was plunged into serious doubt after his promising return for Sussex in the County Championship was cut short.

The 26-year-old fast bowler bowled 18 overs across two innings against Kent at Hove, his first competitive appearance since undergoing surgery at the end of March to remove a piece of glass from his hand.

Image Id: D0F8FCEF211F4C11B0C384A283526C65 Image Caption: Duck! Archer bowled with venom in his county return // Getty

But he did not bowl on the final two days of the rain-affected draw due to his elbow.

The England and Wales Cricket Board confirmed in a statement on Sunday evening that Archer would not feature in the squad to face the Black Caps, saying he was "suffering from pain in his right elbow when bowling".

It added: "The England and Sussex medical teams will now seek guidance, and Archer will see a medical consultant later this week to determine the next course of action on the management of his elbow."

The Test squad is set to be finalised on Monday, though England had already been expected to handle Archer's comeback cautiously even if the game against Kent had gone well.

But the setback will come as a big concern to England selectors and fans alike, with the T20 World Cup, due to be held in October and November in India, on the horizon, followed by the Ashes series in Australia.

Archer had looked to be proving his fitness, having taken three wickets during the opening two days of this week's championship match.

Playing alongside Sussex overseas player Travis Head, Archer bowled with trademark venom in removing Daniel Bell-Drummond and Test teammate Zac Crawley in Kent's first-innings.

He finished with 2-29 from 13 overs but then was only able to send down five overs in the visitors' second innings.

“I really feel for him," said Sussex captain Ben Brown. "He’s in a difficult situation, with that skill of bowling really fast being taken away from him.

"This week has been very challenging. He was hopeful but he’s felt pretty sore in this game.”

Archer's new-ball partner at the club, Ollie Robinson, has been tipped as a possible Test squad inclusion after taking 29 wickets at 14.72 in Sussex's first five games of the season.

Root said it would be a "tricky balance" to ensure England hit their straps later this year when they tour Australia for the Ashes.

"What you're trying to do is create that environment where you've got a strong squad of players that have been together for a good period of time, but no-one going in cold," Root told Sky Sports.

"You can't plan everything perfectly, especially at the minute with Covid. There might be natural opportunities where things arise, there might not be, but the most important thing is that we remain very open-minded about how we want to move going forward.

"We've got some really important cricket coming up. And we've got to prioritise that. So when we sit down, we'll factor in everything as best we can, and make sure that we've got a real clear idea of how we want to go, how we want the year to look, and how we're going to peak for that tour of Australia."

- with PA

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