All posts by n8rngtd.top

Matt Henry’s career-best helped Kent pile up 561 before Derbyshire’s top order provided a solid base in reply

Jon Culley30-Aug-2018
ScorecardHaving been limited to just 11 days of first-class cricket on this ground all summer, Derbyshire members will be grateful for this pitch on one level, even if the chances of a home win are fairly remote. At least, barring a collapse that would be spectacular even by Derbyshire standards, there is a better than even chance of cricket at the weekend.What’s more, there are worse places to be on a sunny September Saturday than on this ground. It has been a much maligned venue over the years, in common with its neighbour down the road in Leicester, but while there is no pretending it is the Tunbridge Wells of the East Midlands, the air of musty decline that used to hang around the place is a thing of the past.Kent are enjoying being here for sure. For the first time this season, they picked up a full complement of batting bonus points, which may yet be invaluable as they seek to close the gap on the top two in what remains of the season.From 365 for 6 overnight, they batted on until all out for 561, adding almost 200 runs at more than five an over. They passed the 400 mark in the 103rd over, only a few deliveries into a partnership between Matt Henry and Grant Stewart that added 119 for the eighth wicket in 20 overs.Henry, whose return to the Kent side has been anticipated largely for his bowling, which yielded 49 wickets in six Championship matches in his first stint with the county earlier in the season, revealed that he can be a pretty useful asset with the bat when everything falls into place. Swinging his arms enthusiastically at anything there to be hit, turning only his fifth first-class fifty into a career-best 81.There were four sixes to rouse spectators, one of which, off Matt Critchley’s legspin, sailed high over the pavilion at deep midwicket, to be followed immediately by another, slightly squarer, into the adjoining car park. He looked good for a maiden hundred, even after Stewart’s departure for a somewhat more measured and rather attractive 85, left him with only one more partner, until another attempt to threaten the pavilion glass off Tony Palladino instead flew off a thick edge to cover.The willing workhorse Palladino dismissed Adam Riley to end the innings with two wickets in two balls and complete the 15th five-for of his first-class career. Remarkably, five of these have been against Kent, including his career-best 7 for 53 on this ground in August 2012. Only this one, though, had cost him more than 100 runs.It left Derbyshire needing to score 412 merely to avoid the follow-on, a total they have reached only once this season. Kent’s ambition was to bat only once and it still might be realised but Derbyshire are at least in a position from which it ought not to.The unblooded Middlesex youngster, Tom Lace, whose arrival on loan as a replacement for Nottinghamshire-bound Ben Slater had some regulars chuntering about home-grown players not being given a chance, more than justified his selection with an eye-catching first-class debut.The 20-year-old, a natural opener with a sound, classical technique – highly thought of by his home county, where he has played since he was 10 – was off the mark to his first ball from Henry and settled any nerves with a nice cut for four in Harry Podmore’s opening over at the other end. He picked up half a dozen more boundaries, mainly off-drives or flicks off the legs, before Ivan Thomas nipped one back to have him leg before for a very promising 40.Thomas consistently asked the most questions among the Kent bowlers, claiming the only other Derbyshire wicket to fall by bowling Billy Godleman for 71. Henry bowled quite full, looking for swing, and left himself open to be driven as a consequence. There was enough in the pitch late in the day for Riley to bowl unchanged for the last hour, joined by Denly’s legspin at the end, but Wayne Madsen and Alex Hughes have so far emerged unscathed.

Allrounder faces CDC hearing in December but is looking to the future, not back to his recent court case after Bristol fracas

George Dobell26-Oct-2018Ben Stokes hopes it is the future that will define how he is remembered, not his recent past.Stokes has been in the news a great deal in recent months following a late-night fight in Bristol and the court case that followed it. As a result, he was not selected for the Ashes tour of 2017-18 and lost the England vice-captaincy. Some of the headlines that he featured in during the trial made for grim reading both personally and for England cricket.But, having been cleared of a charge of affray and made a successful return to the England side, he hopes it is his role on the pitch – and in particular during the World Cup and Ashes in 2019 – that people talk about in the future.”Everything I do from here onwards is what people will hopefully remember,” he told the BBC in his first series of interviews since the trial. “It’s a big year coming up with two important things – a World Cup and an Ashes – and with them both being in England it’s really exciting.”While Stokes still faces an ECB Cricket Discipline Commission hearing in early December – along with Alex Hales, he has been charged with bringing the game into disrepute – he insists that “there’s other things on my mind that take precedence over that”.”I’m totally focused on cricket now,” he said. “We’ve such a big summer coming up. It’s all about looking forward.”Stokes knows, however, that if it is to be his cricket that defines how he is remembered, the team will have to play much better than they managed in succumbing to a record defeat (in terms of runs) in the final ODI against Sri Lanka.”It was a wake-up in that last game,” he told TalkSport. “The way Sri Lanka came out. I don’t recall the last time we were hit for 360 as a bowling unit or played so poorly with the bat. It was a big learning curve. It gave us a big kick up the arse.”Hopefully we can right those wrings in training on Friday and in the T20 on Saturday.”

Bangladesh ODI captain will be contesting in the Narail-2 constituency, his home district, with the polls scheduled to be held on December 30

Mohammad Isam26-Nov-2018Bangladesh ODI captain Mashrafe Mortaza is set to contest the country’s 11th parliamentary election, after he received confirmation of his nomination from the ruling Awami League. He will be contesting in the Narail-2 constituency, his home district, with the polls scheduled to be held on December 30.Mashrafe wrote in Facebook post about how he has always felt strongly about politics, suggesting that the 2019 World Cup would be his last international tournament.”I always had the impulse for politics,” Mashrafe wrote in the post. “I always believed that development in our country is not possible strongly without politics… now I have the opportunity to do something for my country. I don’t know what is awaiting me after the 2019 World Cup. I value my time and I am paying attention to it. I believe that everything has to be done at the right time.”Mashrafe also told the Bengali daily that he will only begin campaigning in Narail after the three-match ODI series against West Indies, which ends on December 14.There have been murmurs of Mashrafe’s transition into politics since 2017, when he established the Narail Express Foundation, a non-profit social welfare venture.The foundation had helped Narail residents get scholarships as well as medical discounts in a Dhaka-based university, and has set up drinking water jars around Narail town, mainly for rickshaw-pullers.It’s quite rare for active international cricketers to enter politics, with Sanath Jayasuriya being one of them in recent times to have done so when he ran for public office in the 2010 Sri Lanka general elections.

Top-scoring for his team with 68 off 65 balls, Southee collected 29 of his runs behind square on the legside

Andrew Fidel Fernando26-Dec-2018Suranga Lakmal bowled brilliantly, but the period in which Sri Lanka’s younger seamers – Lahiru Kumara and Dushmantha Chameera – attempted a short-pitched barrage “worked in New Zealand’s favour” according to Tim Southee.Top-scoring for his team with 68 off 65 balls, Southee collected 29 of his runs behind square on the legside – a tally that included three top-edged sixes and two fours. Partner BJ Watling, with whom Southee mounted a 108-run seventh-wicket stand, also scored heavily off the short balls, hitting 26 of his 46 runs behind square on the off side.”I guess they changed their tactics that had worked so well for them for the first six wickets, and that probably worked in our favour,” Southee said. “The fuller balls worked better on that pitch than the shorter ones, and when they bowled short, we were just trying to cash in on that.”Lakmal, though, had maintained a relatively full length throughout his 19 overs, and picked up career-best figures of 5 for 54.”We knew it was going to be tough after losing the toss, but Lakmal bowled extremely well and asked some tough questions,” Southee said. “We’ve had other teams come to this part of the world and win the toss, and we’ve still been able to put a reasonable score on the board. A lot of credit has to go to the way Lakmal bowled. Early on he got his lengths right and was a real handful.”Having opened the bowling, Lakmal was unchanged until lunch, delivering 12 overs in the session, He then returned after the break to deliver four further overs, making it 16 in a row – the longest-equal new-ball spell by a seam bowler since at least 2001. He was instrumental in dismissing New Zealand for 178, taking four wickets in that first session, before picking up the wicket of Neil Wagner in the second spell to complete his five-for.”When you’re taking wickets, it’s tough to get the ball out of your hand. He was in a bit of a rhythm. He had the 40-minute break after lunch, but came out and bowled another few overs. It worked for him that we were bowled out, but if we could have batted a bit longer and asked him to come back and come back, then that might have tested him, but full credit to him. He bowled exceptionally in that first hour.”

The former Pakistan and Bangladesh coach has been serving as CWI’s high performance director since February 2018

Umar Farooq31-Dec-2018Richard Pybus, West Indies’ high performance director, has agreed to take up the role of head coach full-time, replacing the interim coach Nic Pothas. Pybus’ contract, ESPNcricinfo understands, will effectively run until the 2019 Test series against India, which follows the ODI World Cup in England.The position of West Indies head coach had been vacant since Stuart Law resigned from the position less than two years into his job. He left West Indies to take up a four-year contract with the English county team Middlesex. Originally the fielding coach, Pothas was made interim head coach for the recent tour of Bangladesh that followed Law’s exit. West Indies lost Test and ODI series 2-0 and 2-1 respectively, and won the T20Is 2-1.Pybus took over as high performance director in February, his role requiring him to work alongside selectors and coaches across all levels of the game in the Caribbean. He had previously served as West Indies’ director of cricket from 2013 to the end of 2016, when he chose not to renew his contract.Pybus’ return to West Indies cricket wasn’t welcomed by everyone. The former West Indies opener Desmond Haynes questioned the process of appointing him – “It would be great to ask the [CWI] president [Dave Cameron] about this appointment and when was this position advertised,” he wrote in a Facebook post.Darren Sammy, who captained West Indies when Pybus was director of cricket, expressed disbelief at his return. “Lies lies lies… Must be fake news,” Sammy tweeted, and a day later, in response to a reply: “Well I’m still hoping that nightmare is not true #fakenews he’s not coming back at CWI.”ALSO READ – Haynes, Sammy question Pybus’ return to West IndiesPybus’ stint as director of cricket was controversial – he was responsible for the policy that made participation in West Indies’ domestic competitions mandatory for international selection across formats. This was in part responsible for a number of senior players choosing to focus solely on playing T20 leagues around the world.Before his stints with West Indies, Pybus coached Pakistan – taking them to the final of the 1999 World Cup – and Bangladesh apart from a number of domestic teams around the world, working extensively in South Africa at the franchise level.His last stint with an international team, Bangladesh, ended up lasting only five months after a disagreement over the terms of his contract in 2012. Last year, he was also shortlisted and interviewed for the role of India coach.

A solid bowling performance from Taijul Islam helped the Titans defend 128 and register their first win of the tournament

Mohammad Isam15-Jan-2019How the game played outFinally Khulna Titans put some points on the board after their 25-run win over Rajshahi Kings at Sylhet. A solid bowling performance, particularly from Taijul Islam who took three for 10 and Mahmudullah ( two for 12) at a crucial phase, helped them defend what appeared to be a sub-par 128 at the half way stage.Mehidy Hasan Miraz, who made 23 off 16 balls, lasted till the sixth over, after which they kept slipping, and finally ended on 103 in 19.5 overs.Carlos Brathwaite did not contribute with bat or ball, but took four catches becoming the fifth fielder in the BPL to do so.Khulna were lacklustre with the bat, only a 34-run seventh wicket stand taking them past the 100-run mark. Ariful’s 26 was the top score while none of their batsmen could hit more than two boundaries individually. Kamrul Islam Rabbi, Mehidy Hasan and Mustafizur Rahman combined to take 3-58 from their 11 overs.Turning points

• Brathwaite’s batting form in the BPL continued to be a problem for the Titans. This time, he fell in the 13th over to Arafat Sunny after making only eight runs. His tally now stands at 26 runs in three innings.
• Titans picked up four wickets during Kings’ Powerplay, with Taijul Islam having both Mehidy Hasan and Soumya Sarkar holing out in the deep in the sixth over.
• Kings scored just 16 runs in the five overs between the 10th and 15th, which meant that their required mounted to 12.60 from an achievable 7.90 at the halfway mark.

Star of the dayAfter picking just two wickets in the first four matches, Taijul finally found his groove with the three wickets. After removing Mehidy and Soumya, Taijul took out Ryan ten Doeschate, also keeping the Kings innings quiet throughout his spell.The big missLaurie Evans pulling Junaid’s really short ball to mid-on for his second duck in three matches. Evans has so far made 13 runs in five innings.Where the teams standTitans now have two points from five games but they remain at the bottom of the points table. Kings are on fifth with four points from their five outings.

The head coach wants to expand the coaching staff of the India A and Under-19 teams, but BCCI secretary says hiring Rathour may lead to conflict of interest

Nagraj Gollapudi11-Feb-2019In a bid to expand the coaching staff of India A and Under-19 teams, head coach Rahul Dravid has requested the BCCI to bring former India opener Vikram Rathour and ex-India and Haryana wicketkeeper Vijay Yadav on board. Dravid believes that, with the busy schedule ahead, expanding the support staff would help him not just share the workload but also develop coaches for the future.However, Rathour’s name has sparked a controversy in the media and a note of dissent from acting BCCI secretary Amitabh Choudhary, who believes it will be a conflict of interest – Rathour is the brother-in-law of former India offspinner Aashish Kapoor, the chairman of India’s junior selection committee.On January 30, Dravid wrote to Saba Karim, BCCI’s general manager (cricket operations), saying he wanted extra personnel on the coaching staff to assist him in looking after the two teams. Both men had met earlier in January to chalk out a pathway for qualified Indian coaches who could be given work experience at the India A and Under-19 levels. Dravid suggested to Karim that Rathour could join as early as February 13, when India A start their second unofficial Test against England Lions in Mysore.”With regards to our discussion and plans for short- and medium-terms for India A and Under-19 teams in the pathways programme I do feel that with the upcoming amount of cricket for both these teams it would be beneficial to bring in more support/coaching staff into the system,” Dravid said In the e-mail, accessed by ESPNcricinfo. “It will help us when tours are happening etc.”Keeping the medium-term programme in mind I would recommend that we bring in Vikram Rathour, who has been a former international player, selector and a qualified coach, into our development programme so that he can work with us and assist us as and when required. My suggestion is that we could start with the second India A Test at Mysore and onto the India U-19 series against South Africa. This will also help us in developing of our coaches which should be an important part of our process. “Dravid told Karim that upcoming Indian coaches could be hired on a part-time basis to help them understand the dynamics of the coaching requirements at the Under-19 and India A levels. During their meeting, Dravid pointed out that he, along with Paras Mhambrey and Abhay Sharma (assistant coaches for India A), would be increasingly focusing on preparations for the Under-19 World Cup next year, and hence it was imperative to expand the coaching staff. As part of those preparations, the BCCI is conducting a quadrangular series comprising two youth teams from India, along with South Africa and Afghanistan. That series, to be played in March, would follow the two unofficial Youth Tests between India and South Africa starting February 20.Fotocorp

Subsequently, in another e-mail, Dravid told Karim that Yadav should be roped in from the quadrangular series in March. Yadav had already served as the fielding coach of the India Under-19 team in previous Emerging Asia Cup tournaments.”In addition to Vikram Rathour I would also say we bring in Vijay Yadav to be a part of the coaching staff during the Quadrangular Under-19 series next month. He has been part of the NCA and also Under-19 and India A teams in the recent past.”Karim, along with BCCI CEO Rahul Johri, agreed to bringing Rathour and Yadav on board subject to the approval of the Committee of Administrators (CoA), the supervisory authority of the BCCI until fresh elections are conducted. Karim also checked with Rathour for his willingness while asking him to disclose any conflict of interest. Rathour is understood to have agreed on Monday, while admitting he was related to Kapoor.Under the BCCI constitution, the ethics officer is the authority to adjudicate on conflict issues. However, with no ethics officer in place, the CoA will have to decide on Dravid’s recommendations. Vinod Rai, the CoA chairman, said that he would consult his colleague Diana Edulji before taking a final decision. “The appointment has not been done,” he told ESPNcricinfo. “No approval has been given.”Choudhary, on the other hand, questioned the “process” in hiring Rathour and whether the position he would be appointed to had been advertised. “What exactly was the process that was followed?” Choudhary wrote in an email to the CoA, Johri, Karim and the two other BCCI office-bearers. “Knowing Rahul [Dravid], I am certain that even if he would have recommended a name, he would not have said that processes must not be followed to engage the services of Vikram.”I also see that the matter of conflict of interest has been raised in the media and I am surprised that this was not known to the person making the decision since the crux of the conflict has been in the public domain at least for the last two-and-a-half years.”Rai said the reason the job was not advertised was because it was “only part-time and not a full-time appointment so that a process was required.” As for the perceived conflict issue, Rai said he had received Rathour’s reply via Karim on Monday.

Batting coach Mike Hussey believes Mohit Sharma and Shardul Thakur can do Bravo’s job in the death overs

Deivarayan Muthu in Chennai05-Apr-20192:42

Thakur and Mohit can bowl in the death – Hussey

Chennai Super Kings’ seam attack has been depleted further, with their designated death bowler Dwayne Bravo sidelined from the IPL for two weeks with a hamstring strain. Bravo sustained the injury during Super Kings’ first loss of the season, against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium on April 3.Super Kings had already lost Lungi Ngidi (injury) and David Willey (personal reasons) in the past couple of weeks. In the IPL, replacements can only be sought for players who are injured, which means Super Kings could not get anyone to fill in for Willey.Bravo had conceded 29 runs in the last over of Mumbai’s innings but against Rajasthan Royals last week, he nailed his variations and defended 11 off the last over to secure a tense win. Bravo also contributed with the bat in that game, providing Super Kings’ innings some late impetus with 27 off 16 balls.Michael Hussey, the Super Kings batting coach, conceded that Bravo’s injury will shake up the balance of the team. Hussey, though, backed New Zealand allrounder Scott Kuggeleijn, who was signed as Ngidi’s replacement, to come good.Kuggeleijn can hit the deck hard and is also a handy batsman lower down the order. More recently in the Super Smash, New Zealand’s domestic T20 competition, Kuggeleijn claimed 13 wickets in nine matches at an economy rate of 8.14 in Northern Districts’ run to the final. He is set to make his IPL bow against Kings XI Punjab on Saturday.”Obviously, he (Bravo) offers so much balance to the team and he’s a quality player, so it’s going to cause a little bit of rejigging of the team,” Hussey said. “But, I’m sure we will still be able to put together a very strong team and yes it’s a big loss for us, but we have had these challenges in the past and we’ve been able to overcome them. We’re hoping we can do that again.”Yes, definitely [Scott Kuggeleijn can fill the void]. I’m sure MS [Dhoni] and [Stephen] Fleming will look at Scott and assess his death-bowling skills.”Hussey also said that Super Kings have death-bowling options in Shardul Thakur and Mohit Sharma, but they haven’t been effective. They have economy rates in excess of 12 each at the death since last IPL. Bravo himself has leaked 11.90 runs an over at the death in the same period. Hussey also reckoned the spinners could do the job at the death on the helpful tracks at home.”We’ve got Shardul who has done a little bit of death bowling and Mohit can also bowl at the death,” he said. “It’s about assessing the conditions as well and see which bowlers are suitable to bowling in the latter overs and if it’s a real turning pitch, maybe one of the spinners can bowl at the end. There will be a lot of thinking about the best combination to get. It’s a key area of the game and we didn’t quite get it right against Mumbai and they scored a lot of runs in the last two or three overs. It’s an area we need to focus on and try to execute – it’s an important facet of the game.”

West Indies, like Ireland, have issues to solve in their bowling attack although conditions might suit the hosts more

The Preview by Ankur Dhawan10-May-20191:58

‘You’ve just got to let Chris Gayle be’ – Jason Holder

Big picture

Ireland wanted points on the board and they got two of them, but things couldn’t have been worse. A 196-run hammering in the tournament opener against West Indies followed by a washout against Bangladesh leaves them bottom placed and means that another defeat would put them on the brink of elimination. They have plenty of problems but they start at the top. Captain William Porterfield averages a shade over 11 this year from six innings, less than even Boyd Rankin. It’s not that he has been terribly out of nick but in his last four innings he has contrived to fall in different ways after getting a start.But the greater concern remains the impenetrability of their bowling attack, particularly on flat surfaces with an older ball. Since January 2018, they have taken the least number of wickets between overs 15 and 40 among Full Members: 55. Even UAE have done marginally better than them. Keeping that in mind, and despite the fact that they conceded 381 against West Indies in the first match, their best bet might be to chase down a score, much like Bangladesh did in the second match of the series.Bowling hasn’t been West Indies’ strong suit either, as they have the worst average, least number of wickets and third-highest economy rate among Full Members since January 2018. However, they at least have pace, which proved to be a major difference between the two teams in the first match. Another key and admittedly obvious difference was the top order, despite the absence of Chris Gayle and Shimron Hetmyer. Shai Hope, perhaps the best batsman in the tournament, already has two hundreds, but that has also meant that the middle order hasn’t had much of a hit, which showed in the last match against Bangladesh where they finished with an under-par261 for 9 from 205 for 2 in the 41st over. Apart from that, a better fielding effort than the one against Bangladesh would go a long way in securing a spot in the final.

Form guide

Ireland LLWLW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
West Indies LWWLW

In the spotlight

Darren Bravo is averaging just a shade over 28 since his return to the side against Bangladesh in December. It isn’t much lower than his career average of 31 but for a player of his class, it has to be considered paltry. Furthermore, he has only one fifty during this period which suggests that he has tended to squander starts. So far, he has had only one decent opportunity in the tri-nation series and in that he meekly prodded forward and edged a straight ball from Shakib Al Hasan to the keeper. West Indies need him to step up.After Andy Balbirnie, Paul Stirling has been the second-best batsman among active players for Ireland since 2018. However, he hasn’t scored a hundred in 12 innings since March 2018. He was cleaned up lazily playing down the wrong line to a Kemar Roach loosener in the last match and before that against England, perished to another soft dismissal off Tom Curran for 33. In his last 12 innings, he has passed double figures on nine occasions, but only three of those are 50-plus scores. Ireland need their opener to start converting his starts into substantial scores to consistently compete against strong batting sides.

Team news

The change Ireland could consider is roping in Boyd Rankin for Tim Murtagh, who was economical against England, expensive against West Indies but averages 63 with the ball this year – although majority of those matches were in spin-friendly Dehradun.Ireland (probable): 1 William Porterfield, 2 Paul Stirling, 3 Andy Balbirnie, 4 Lorcan Tucker, 5 Kevin O’Brien, 6 Gary Wilson, 7 George Dockrell, 8 Mark Adair, 9 Josh Little, 10 Tim Murtagh/Boyd Rankin, 11 Barry McCarthyAfter smashing 179 in the tournament opener, John Campbell missed the last match against Bangladesh with a sore back and Sunil Ambris opened in his place. Campbell should be back for the clash against Ireland, with Ambris likely to drop down the order again.West Indies (probable): 1 John Campbell, 2 Shai Hope, 3 Darren Bravo, 4 Roston Chase, 5 Jonathan Carter, 6 Sunil Ambris, 7 Jason Holder, 8 Ashley Nurse, 9 Kemar Roach, 10 Sheldon Cottrell, 11 Shannon Gabriel

Pitch and conditions

Heavy rain washed out the Ireland-Bangladesh clash on Thursday but a clearer day is expected in Dublin on Saturday. With all the rainfall lately, there could be something on offer for the seamers, which might suit Ireland more than West Indies, who have quicker bowlers, thus bowl a slightly shorter length than what would be ideal on a moisture-laden pitch.

Stats and trivia

• The 196-run defeat against West Indies was Ireland’s heaviest batting second since 2015, overall their fifth heaviest.
• Another hundred from Shai Hope on Saturday will make him the tenth batsman to score three consecutive centuries in ODIs, and the only West Indian on that list

England’s newest fast bowler believes he’s got the game to excel in 50 overs after earning late squad place

ESPNcricinfo staff21-May-20193:10

Archer brings special things to a cricket field – Smith

Jofra Archer believes that his experience of performing under pressure at the IPL will help him to deal with the spotlight of his maiden World Cup, after he was named in England’s final World Cup squad only weeks after making his international debut.Archer, 24, has played just three ODIs and a T20I since his first appearance for England in Malahide earlier this month. But he has impressed with his 90mph pace and versatility as both a new-ball and death-overs bowler, and was named in the final 15 this morning ahead of David Willey.”I got a call from Ed Smith yesterday, maybe at about six o’clock or so,” Archer told Sky Sports News. “I was actually driving at the time and I just felt the phone vibrate and I answered it without looking at it, then that to stop myself and say “good evening”. “But it was really, really exciting to be a part of a big summer for English cricket.”ALSO READ: Archer, Vince, Dawson included in England’s World Cup squadArcher’s rise to international recognition has been dramatic. Late last year, he had still been reconciled to spending a full seven years completing his residency qualification, which would have made him available to England by 2021-22. But when the ECB reduced that period to three years, he suddenly became available in March this year”I had got it in my head that I’d have to wait seven years,” he said. “Then back in December, they obviously changed it a little bit, but I was prepared to wait however long it would take.”In between spending the obligatory 210 days a year in the UK to fulfil his residency obligations, Archer had been making his name on the T20 circuit with notable spells in numerous domestic competitions, notably with Hobart Hurricanes in the Big Bash and Rajasthan Royals in the IPL. Prior to his England call-up, he had played just 14 50-over matches in his professional career, but insisted he was not worried by this lack of specific experience.”I think I’m ready,” he added. “I’ve played a lot of cricket outside of 50 overs. And I know to deal with the pressure of crowds. Obviously because I was playing franchise cricket, that was the reason why it wasn’t able to play much List A cricket for Sussex, but you don’t forget how to bowl. And I think you get more opportunities to bowl than in T20s, you get another six extra overs there to take more wickets.”Furthermore, Archer’s regular encounters with some of the best players in the world on the T20 circuit mean that he is arguably better prepared for dealing with the talent in the World Cup than many more experienced international bowlers.”I think I probably have a bigger advantage over some of the other guys in our team,” he said. “We play [these guys] twice a [season] in the IPL, so you know their weaknesses, you know their strengths, you know if they can’t run between the wickets … it gets you an extra bit of inside information.Jofra Archer in his followthrough•Getty Images

“To be honest, I think international cricket is probably the same intensity as the IPL,” he added. “‘I think the only thing that changes is the amount of overs but, ever since I’ve started, the pressure is really intense. It’s different, but it still isn’t different.”Despite some outspoken comments in the media from his rivals for World Cup selection – not least David Willey, the man whom he pipped to the final spot – Archer insisted he could not have been made more welcome by his new team-mates.”Everyone welcomed me with open arms from the moment I got in,” he said. “It’s a really good team to be a part of, with great players, a great captain, great support staff and coaches. It’s probably one of the better teams have played in.”Asked whether England were ready to live up to their billing as the No.1 ODI team in the world, and pre-tournament favourites, Archer said there would be pressure in a home tournament regardless of the team’s merit. However, he felt that the experience of grinding out results in a long county season would play into the squad’s hands as they embark on a tough six-week campaign.”This is what the county season prepared us for,” he said. “The county season is about five or six months long, just relentless. I don’t think it should feel any different for any of our guys because we usually play from March to September anyway. For a lot of the teams, this isn’t their summer, they are not usually playing cricket at this time of year. So these are the little things that can work in our favour.”Asked who he was most looking forward to dismissing during the World Cup, Archer namechecked India’s captain, Virat Kohli. But he also added that the best player that he had bowled to during the IPL was his own England team-mate, Jos Buttler, in the nets with Rajasthan.”I’d quite like to get Virat out, because I wasn’t able to get him in the IPL because I think a leggie got him in every game he played. I also wanted to bowl at AB [de Villiers] as well, but don’t think he’s playing for South Africa. And probably Chris Gayle again.”But Buttler, he’s amazing, he’s a 360 cricketer, he can hit you straight down the ground and can paddle you right behind the keeper’s head… I don’t think anywhere’s safe as a bowler.”I’ve not really had a chance to speak to him about batting, but I spoke to Ben [Stokes] when we batted in the middle a few times in the IPL. If the opportunity to bat does come in the World Cup, having a familiar face at the other end should help calm the nerves.”Further afield, there is also the prospect of Archer making his England Test debut with the Ashes looming in August.”If they do [pick me], I’d be over the moon,” he said. “But for right now I’ve got a World Cup to think about. I don’t expect to waltz in to the Test team either so, if selected, I’ll work my butt off. But, if not, I’ll go back to Sussex and keeping putting in performances.”