‘Jofra deserves a bit of luck’: England cricket MD Rob Key says Archer has yet been ruled out of the World Cup

England fast bowler Jofra Archer, who was on Tuesday ruled out of the Ashes series against Australia starting next month, has not been ruled out of England’s scheme of things for the upcoming 50-over World Cup in India.
England managing director of men’s cricket Rob Key has said that Archer had not yet been ruled out of the World Cup. He cited the example of Australia captain Cummins, who had to wait six years between his first (in 2011) and second (2017) Tests due to injury, only to return in style.
“People like Pat Cummins missed a lot of cricket at the early stage of his career. Now Australia have seen the benefit, he’s been able to put season after season together. Jofra deserves a bit of luck. The poor lad is pretty draught with what’s happened, you just hope that luck turns for him at some point”, Key said.

We know you’ll be back stronger, Jof ❤️
💬 “We wish him the best of luck with his recovery. I’m sure we’ll see Jofra back to his best and winning games for England.”
🎙️ @RobKey612 pic.twitter.com/vL90D4TETA
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) May 16, 2023
Archer spent 17 months on the sidelines following elbow and back injuries before returning to international cricket in January.
The 28-year-old, who will be missing for the rest of the summer, played five matches for Mumbai Indians before the injury ended his Indian Premier League (IPL) stint last week.
Key further added,“It’s going to be a fairly taxing road to go down to get this fixed, but I’m sure we’ll see him back at some point. We’re going to look at every single thing we’ve done [in terms of rehab and workload]. Everything we’ve done has been what we thought was the right thing for the player first, not actually for anyone else. Just what was the best way for him to have the best career he could possibly have. And that’s not worked out. We’ll look at every single thing.”
Jonny Bairstow will don the wicketkeeper’s gloves after returning from a freak golf injury in September that kept him out of the T20 World Cup in Australia last year.
Ben Foakes was dropped to accommodate Bairstow, a key cog in England’s ultra-aggressive ‘Bazball’ approach to test cricket, for the Ashes warm-up against Ireland at Lord’s.
“It was a seriously tough decision to leave Ben Foakes out of the squad,” Key said.

In his own words 🗣
These are the matches that made @jbairstow21… pic.twitter.com/XsurdjtnNq
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) May 16, 2023
“He has been excellent for England in the last year, but Jonny Bairstow is one of the best players in the world whose performances last summer epitomised what we are about.”
All-rounder Chris Woakes was recalled to the test squad for the first time since March 2022, while Durham fast bowler Mark Wood also returned after skipping the tour of New Zealand.
The injuries suffered recently skipper Ben Stokes (knee) and seamer James Anderson (groin) did not appear serious, with both retained in the squad.

Surrey batter Ollie Pope was confirmed as England’s vice-captain ahead of the Ashes series beginning at Edgbaston on June 16.
England squad: Ben Stokes (captain), James Anderson, Jonathan Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood
-With Reuters Inputs