Jofra Archer reveals he fought through ‘excruciating’ pain to win World Cup but can’t wait to get stuck into Aussies after Ashes call-up
JOFRA ARCHER insists he is fit to make his Test debut after treating his “excruciating” side strain with painkillers.
Archer bowled four impressive overs for Sussex against Surrey on Friday in the T20 Blast - his first match since returning from a post-World Cup break in Barbados.
Even though he was able to play all 11 of England’s matches in the World Cup, he struggled with a side strain for much of the tournament.
Archer insisted: "It was pretty excruciating, I couldn’t do without painkillers from the game against Afghanistan onwards. I'm fortunate it's settled quickly.
"I couldn't get a week's rest because of how close the games were. I only ever needed a week to ten days’ off.
"I'm ready to go out and show what I can do with a red ball. I think my red ball record is better than my white ball record, so I just can't wait to get the opportunity."
England are likely to have to pick two from Archer, Stuart Broad and Chris Woakes to face the Aussies on Thursday.
Most Read In Sport
Broad and Woakes are the men who destroyed Ireland for just 38 all out at Lord’s on Friday.
Head coach Trevor Bayliss added: “We must decide whether Jofra has bowled enough red ball overs to play in a Test match.
"We also have a duty of care to him. We mustn’t bowl him into the ground when he hasn’t played a red ball game for almost 12 months.”
