Chris Silverwood Says England Will Try To Ease The Workload On Jofra Archer
Published - 11 Feb 2020, 06:10 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:03 AM
English coach Chris Silverwood says that England are thinking about limiting the number of overs Jofra Archer bowls after he returns to fitness. He suffered a low-grade stress fracture in his right elbow, after bowling more overs than all of his compatriots, despite only making his debut in May last year.
Archer flew back home last week after the injury he suffered while playing for England against South Africa.
As of now, he has been ruled out of the upcoming Test series against Sri Lanka and the Indian Premier League (IPL) as well. But Rajasthan Royals (RR) will be hoping he can play some part of the campaign as he is their marquee bowler.
Silverwood has acknowledged that the management will look to use the 24-year-old in shorter spells to keep him fit in the longer run.
Chris Silverwood says England will reduce Jofra Archer’s workload in order to keep him fit
In the current scheme of things, it looks clear that England relies heavily on Archer.
Joe Root’s team did extremely well in their tour of South Africa after they tamed the host 3-1 in a five-match Test series.
Despite that, Silverwood says that he will look into the matter, and use Archer smartly in the future.
“Things like [bowling 40 overs in an innings] we have to look at,” Silverwood said. “But sometimes, when needs must, you’ve got to do it.
“We managed Mark Wood through both the Test matches he’s played here and he’s bowled in short, sharp spells. Would we look to do that now with Jof? Yes, we probably would.”
The fact that England’s reliance on Archer could have caused him an injury, but Silverwood says he wouldn’t have taken another approach even if he could go back in time.
“Not really. It’s just a case of: his injury occurred, the first scan didn’t show us where it was, the second has. We can now put a plan in place and get him going for our summer,” the former England seamer said.
“Being a fast bowler is hard work. It is hard work. Ask Jimmy [Anderson], ask [Stuart] Broad, ask any of them. Being a fast bowler is hard work. It’s just how it is.”
England’s tour of South Africa ends after the three-match T20I series, the first of which will be played on Wednesday, at Buffalo Park.
