Jofra Archer cleared to represent England in the World Cup

Jofra Archer is among the most lethal fast bowlers doing the rounds in world cricket. He hasn’t played any international cricket, but his bowling has captured the imaginations of the fans owing to his sheer pace and ability to bowl yorkers at will. The Barbados-born speedster plays for Sussex in the English domestic circuit and turned out to be a massive success for them.

He also plied his trade for the Hobart Hurricanes in the Big Bash League. To add to his delight, he was roped in by the Rajasthan Royals for the Indian Premier League in which he turned out to be the franchises’ leading wicket-taker. To multiply his jubilation, he has recently been cleared to represent England in the upcoming Cricket World Cup as per reports in dailymail.co.uk.

Archer’s complicated guidelines

England could add a discretionary clause to their own regulations in order to accommodate Archer in the squad. As per the guidelines, one has to be a resident of England for seven years in order to clear the residency qualification. Therefore, he is slated to be eligible before the winter of the 2022-23 season. Last October, the ICC reduced the qualification period from four years to three years.

The decision was made in order to align the rules of men’s cricket with that of women’s. England can now ignore the self-imposed criteria and apply the ones used by the major countries. Archer, who is currently in England with a British passport, needs to fulfill the 36 months sit-out period as confirmed to him by an ICC spokesperson in order for him to convert from one country’s rules and regulations to another’s.

Archer played for the West Indies U19 team in 2013, however, couldn’t find a place in the 2014 World Cup squad. He also hasn’t played domestic cricket in the Caribbean since the March of that year. He started playing club cricket in England since 2015 and hasn’t backtracked ever since. He was introduced to the Sussex team management by Chris Jordan, who is also a Barbados-born fast-bowler.

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