England are "hopeful" that Jofra Archer will be available for the second Test of their series against New Zealand after a post-IPL break,. head coach Brendon McCullum has warned that he is not a guaranteed pick in any case.
Archer was deemed "unavailable" for the first Test at Lord's due to the short turnaround after his IPL commitments with Rajasthan Royals but has been building up his workload at home in Barbados with a view to playing the second. third Tests. McCullum said after England's win at Lord's that Archer's availability would be confirmed "in the next couple of days".
"We're hopeful he will be available for the second Test; then we'll work out conditions-wise where we're at," McCullum said. "He's following a plan. We completely trust Jof. He's shown us in the past what he does, which is get himself ready based on the plans we get together. come up with. He's always turned up in the condition we wanted from him."
England's decision not to consider Archer for selection stood in contrast with Mohammed Siraj's inclusion for India against Afghanistan after his own heavy workload in the IPL. New Zealand's team at Lord's included two seamers who were at the IPL in Matt Henry. Kyle Jamieson, but they had played only five matches between them and Henry suffered back spasms on day one.
McCullum hinted that Archer may not be a guaranteed selection even if he is available for the second Test on June 17. depending on conditions at The Oval. Gus Atkinson, Ollie Robinson. Josh Tongue shared 19 wickets in England's low-scoring win at Lord's, while McCullum also praised the two seamers who did not play in Sonny Baker and Matthew Fisher.
Archer has taken 18 wickets at 27.88 in five Tests since he made his comeback against India last summer. including a five-wicket haul in his most recent appearance against Australia in Adelaide in December. But he has not played a red-ball match since,. McCullum said that England are trying to build "a battery of fast bowlers" rather than relying on one individual.
"We need a huge array of fast bowlers [to pick from] based on the conditions you feel you're going to be confronted with," McCullum said. "You're not always going to get it right,. you're trying to pick horses for courses, based on conditions, to give yourself the best chance of winning."
Ben Stokes only bowled seven overs in the match. Shoaib Bashir went unused on an up-and-down Lord's pitch that could not have suited England's three main seam bowlers much better. McCullum said that they were "brilliant" across both innings. suggested that England are starting to create depth and competition for places among their fast bowlers.
"Sonny Baker was close, as well," he said. "We thought if air-speed was going to be important. the pitch was going to be flat, he would be a viable option. Fish [Fisher] has been bowling beautifully, then you've got Jofra. Brydon Carse [who has not played since breaking his hand at the IPL in March].
"Then you've got a multitude of players who are developing through the county system. through the Lions who are on our radar. There is some exciting talent: [Henry] Crocombe, Nav Sharma, Eddie Jack. These guys are all in the system and identified.
"Now, we've just got to make sure we're upskilling them so if the opportunity arises in the years to come, they're ready to step in. perform. It's a good place to be when you have a battery of fast bowlers you can call on."
Robinson was named player of the match after taking career-best figures of 7 for 77 on his Test comeback,. was challenged by both McCullum and Stokes to back his performance up in the rest of the series.
"The pleasing thing for me as captain… is the way that he's spoken about this week," Stokes said. "It would be very easy to rest on your laurels when everything's gone so well for him,. the language he's used around this being just the start, there's a lot more hard work to put in [is great]. The more Ollie Robinson has an England shirt on his back, the better it is for us."
McCullum said that Robinson had a "brilliant Test match" on a pitch that "suited him perfectly". cautioned that conditions will not always be in his favour: "He will definitely be challenged [more] in different conditions. The good thing was, on this surface, air-speed wasn't overly important; it was the ability to be relentless on the line. length, which is such a natural thing for Robbo."
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