Archer revels in ‘surreal’ return from injury after six-wicket haul for England

The
fast
bowler
has
endured
a
torrid
time
with
injuries
across
the
last
three
years
and
had
not
featured
for
England
in
any
format
since
March
2021,
before
the
white-ball
series
against
the
Proteas.

Archer
managed
just
one
wicket
for
81
runs
on
his
long-awaited
return
as
England
succumbed
to
a
27-run
opening
defeat
on
Friday
(January
27)
in
Bloemfontein.

The
27-year-old
was
rested
as
South
Africa
wrapped
up
the
ODI
series
with
a
five-wicket
win
in
the
second
encounter,
but
helped
England
avoid
a
3-0
whitewash
in
the
last
clash.

He
took
6-40,
the
third-best
bowling
figures
for
England
in
an
ODI,
as
England
cruised
to
a
59-run
victory
after
Jos
Buttler
paved
the
way
with
a
dominant
131
in
the
first
innings.

“It
is
good
being
back.
It
has
been
a
long
road,”
Archer
said
after
his
maiden
five-wicket
haul
in
50-over
international
cricket.

“This
is
a
small
tick
but
I
want
to
see
how
I
am
in
April,
June,
July
and
September.

“Being
back
after
however
many
weeks,
months
it
is
kind
of
surreal.
This
is
just
the
first
series,
there
is
loads
of
time
to
get
the
fine-tuning
done.”

A
fearsome
pace-bowling
display
reinvigorated
memories
of
the
2019
Cricket
World
Cup
victory
and
the
Ashes
series
in
the
same
year
when
Archer
caused
Australia
problems
with
his
aggressive
style.

“He
is
like
gold
dust,”
former
England
captain
Nasser
Hussain
told
Sky
Sports.
“He
is
so
valuable
for
English
cricket
and
world
cricket.

“What
I
took
today,
was
not
just
his
class
and
wicket-taking
potential,
but
what
I’ve
missed
is
just
the
effortless
grace
he
has.”

Archer
will
head
to
the
Indian
Premier
League
to
test
his
T20
credentials
before
returning
to
train
for
the
upcoming
Ashes
series
with
Australia,
which
starts
on
June
16.

Former
England
captain
Michael
Atherton
wants
the
star
bowler
to
be
managed
carefully,
though,
with
his
previous
injuries
remaining
a
concern.

“Back
and
elbow
are
absolutely
critical
so
there
would
have
been
some
doubt
there
about
whether
he
would
get
back,”
Atherton
told
Sky
Sports.

“He’s
got
some
way
to
go
yet
to
show
he
can
do
it
across
formats
and
then
cope
with
an
ever-demanding
schedule
but
it
was
a
wonderful
day
for
him.”