Jofra Archer Bewildered At Getting Preference Ahead Of Stuart Broad For The First Test Against The West Indies

England pace sensation Jofra Archer has opened up on getting preference for the ongoing first Test against the West Indies in Southampton. As England and West Indies restarted the sport that was on a hiatus for nearly four months, the hosts dropped a selection bombshell. The English camp decided to leave out veteran pacer Stuart Broad and instead gave the nod to Jofra Archer and Mark Wood to partner alongside James Anderson.

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Stuart Broad, who has an astounding 485 wickets in 138 Tests, missed a home Test for the first time since 2012. The Nottinghamshire seamer has formed one of the best pace bowling combinations with James Anderson and it would have been no surprise if they did cause trouble to the tourists under overcast conditions. But England made the hard call to axe him and play Archer and Wood together in Tests for the first time.

It was nice to be supported: Jofra Archer

Jofra Archer admitted that he still feels confused about how he managed to leapfrog the experienced Stuart Broad for the opening game of the home season. However, he hopes to repay the faith by giving credible performances. The 25-year-old made his Test debut last year in the 2019 Ashes and bowled some fearsome and impressive spells before getting injured in South Africa early in 2020 after the first Test.

“I still don’t know how I got the nod over him (Broad), I’m still a bit confused by it today. I’m glad to be given the opportunity and hope I get the chance to show why I was picked,” Archer stated as quoted by Sky Sports.

Any support around the matters going on is much appreciated really: Jofra Archer

One of the most significant topics that have been doing rounds since the last month is the topic of racism. It all began in the United States through the killing of an innocent black man after which famous personalities from all the fields have stood up to condemn racial discrimination.

The Barbados-born paceman, who is the only black player in the English team at present, recalls it as an eye-opener. Before the start of play, all English and West Indian players, bent down on one knee and also have the logo of “BlackLivesMatter” on their collars to show solidarity with the movement.

Jofra Archer names it as an eye-opener to communities all around the world and acknowledged that any support from anyone is much admired. Archer himself had endured racial abuse from a man in the crowd back in November when England toured New Zealand for two Tests.

“It was nice to be supported. This year has been an eye-opener, not to a lot of people in the black community, but to everyone else. Obviously we knew what was going on. We live in a time now where everything is being recorded and a lot of people might not know that was happening up until this year. Any support around the matters going on is much appreciated really,” he added.

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