England quick primed for big Test comeback against India
As England announced the squad for the first Test against India starting 20 June, right-arm pacer Jofra Archer was among the major names missing from the lineup.
Having sustained a thumb injury, Archer was also absent from England's recent white-ball outings against West Indies and was omitted from a 15-member squad for the England Lions' second unofficial Test against India A.
But recent developments indicate that Archer might be back in the mix sooner, with England national selector Luke Wright stating that the pacer is on course to make a return ahead of the second Test against India, starting on 2 July in Birmingham.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Wright said, "Joff's trucking on really well, actually. The plans for him, he's playing a few second-team games.
"He's getting a few loading up in the second team for Sussex, and then the idea for him is to play for Sussex against Durham, I think on the 23rd, just during the first Test.
"So, he'll play for Sussex if all things go well, and then if things go well, fingers crossed, he should be available for the second Test.
Another speedster missing out from the squad for the first Test is Mark Wood. The 35-year-old had picked up a knee injury during the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, ruling him out for four months.
Wright conceded that while Wood has started off with light training, his full recovery is expected to be a longer one, towards the end of the India series.
Mark Wood limps off the field | AFG v ENG | Champions Trophy 2025
Mark Wood limps off the field | AFG v ENG | Champions Trophy 2025
**"**I think Woody's now started bowling just lightly, to be honest. He's just off a few paces, but that's been a great sign," he said.
"So, he's on the road to recovery. I think he's more long-term, if we can get him back, he might have an option for the fourth or fifth Test. But again, each day it's ticking off each box and making sure he's okay.
"But he's trucking on well and same with Stoney. So, we are starting to get boys back, but they're still further away than right now. But it would be nice having those options back as well."
England and India will lock horns in the first of five Tests starting 20 June in Headingley, marking the beginning of a new ICC World Test Championship cycle. ICC World Test ChampionshipNewsJofra ArcherEngland
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Int'l Cricket Council
12 hours ago
- Int'l Cricket Council
Labuschagne upbeat on Test cricket ahead of Lord's final
Marnus Labuschagne believes that Test cricket is in "great place" as he prepares for the upcoming ICC World Test Championship Final. The 30-year-old is set to join the rest of the Australian squad in their bid to defend the title against South Africa at Lord's, with the highly anticipated clash set to begin on June 11. 'It is an exciting tournament,' he said. 'It means every Test you play has something on it, it brings all the countries into play, and anyone can make the final. You're playing for a trophy at the end of a two-year cycle. I think it has worked great. Two years ago, when we beat India, it was awesome 'I'm looking at it from a player's perspective and it looks like the game is in a great place.' Labuschagne was part of the Australian team that clinched the ICC World Test Championship title in 2023, when they defeated India by 209 runs at The Oval to lift the trophy for the first time. 'Every time Test cricket is on, people want to watch it. India, Australia and England are probably carrying a bit of the load of Test cricket, but we really want to see all the countries keep producing great players and being part of upholding such an amazing tradition of Test cricket.' Labuschagne solidified his place in the Australian setup during the 2019 Ashes at Lord's, famously becoming cricket's first-ever concussion substitute. That moment marked the beginning of a prolific phase for the South African-born batter, who went on to average an impressive 63.43 after 14 Tests and held the No.1 spot in the ICC Test rankings for six months starting December 2021. However, the current World Test Championship cycle has been more challenging for Labuschagne, with the right-hander averaging 28.33 with a lone century. To adapt to British conditions and rediscover his form ahead of the WTC Final, he has been turning out for Glamorgan—his county stint proving to be something of a second home for him. 'I love playing with the guys here, they are close friends, and I love the environment at the club,' he said. 'The benefit of having a relationship with the club for six years is that you have the perks of being able to call the director of cricket and say: 'this is what it looks like, is there a chance we can line this up'. 'Without that relationship, there might be some hesitancy, or you might not get someone in for two games. But that's the benefit of the long-term commitment I have shown over the last six years.' Australia odd couple Labuschagne and Smith brought together by love of batting | WTC23 Final The Australia squad give an insight into playing with Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith ahead of the ICC World Test Championship Final 2023 Labuschagne isn't alone in the County Championship, with fellow Australian all-rounders Beau Webster and Cameron Green also featuring alongside him. Webster is representing Gloucestershire, while Green, making his return from injury, is turning out for Warwickshire. 'I spoke to Greeny last week, he's going well,' Labuschagne said 'I think he's just enjoying being back playing and being able to be on the park after being out for as long as he was. 'I haven't spoken too much to Beau but I'm sure we will reunite in the next week or so, get back on the golf course and have a bit of chat before we get ready for the final. 'It (county cricket) just stands you in good stead as you are out playing games, you are in that competitive mindset, and you get yourself in that headspace again.' Australia last faced South Africa in a Test series during the 2022-23 season, where Australia secured a 2-0 series victory on home soil. This time, with the ICC World Test Championship title up for grabs, Labuschagne is determined to leave London with the silverware in hand. 'South Africa have been a very good team in this cycle, on paper it's a well-balanced side and they have some really nice players,' he said 'It will be a good challenge for us, and we are going to have to be on our game. Playing at Lord's is always special with the history and what is involved with playing there. It's going to be an awesome week and another great match.'
Int'l Cricket Council
14 hours ago
- Int'l Cricket Council
Ponting dissects Gill captaincy call and India's Test squad
Australia great Ricky Ponting has provided his thoughts on India's decision to hand Shubman Gill the Test captaincy, predicted how he thinks their top-order may look in the upcoming series against England, and how the side will cope having to replace recently retired duo Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Two of India's greatest batters in Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli announced their retirement from the longest format earlier this month, with a new era of Indian cricket to be ushered in when the side travels to Europe in June for a five-match ICC World Test Championship series against England under the leadership of Gill. The decision to hand Gill the captaincy ahead of more senior players like Jasprit Bumrah or Rishabh Pant did not surprise Ponting, with the Australian legend believing the 25-year-old can flourish in the role at Test level. "I actually think it's the right move," Ponting told The ICC Review regarding the decision to hand Gill the role as India Test captain. "I know there's a lot of other people out there, pundits out there saying they can't understand why it wasn't Bumrah and why they have gone to Shubman, but I think it's pretty simple. "Bumrah's injuries are holding him back a bit in the last couple of years and you don't want that with a captain. You can't have a captain coming in and missing games here and there, so I think it's I think it's the right decision. "Now that they've made it, it's one they've got to stick with and give him a good crack at it for, for a long period of time. "Even just looking back at the way he's handled this current GT (Gujarat Titans) team through this IPL, I think leadership sits really well with him. "And the important thing for me with leadership as well as if you're a batter and you're a captain, you have to be scoring runs. And Shubman is doing that in IPL and I think the timing is right and I think you'll have a good captain who'll make a lot of Test runs going forward." Just where Gill is best placed to bat in India's potent batting lineup is still up for debate, with the talented right-hander having been used as an opener or No.3 during all of his first 32 Test match appearances. But Ponting thinks India may get the best out of Gill if they drop him down to No.4 just to alleviate a bit of pressure against the new ball. "I think (Sai) Sudarshan and (Yashasvi) Jaiswal will open the batting (in England) as Sudarshan just looks like a class player to me and technically I think he could do well at Test level," Ponting said. "They'll have two pretty young opening batters, so they might look to go for someone that's got a bit more experience at No.3. "Whether that's KL (Rahul) or Karun (Nair) at No.3, and then Shubman might end up being that No.4 player, which will probably make life for him a little bit easier as a captain as well. "Not having to be opening or batting at No.3 as a young captain might make it easier. Their top five will probably be Sudarshan, Jaiswal, KL, Gill and Karun Nair for the start of the England series." Ponting knows replacing the experience of Rohit and Kohli at Test level will be hard to do, but thinks India are as well placed as any nation to do so given their rich wealth of quality players at their disposal. "It's always very hard to replace players like that that have been around for so long that have played that much Test cricket. But if any country can do it and do it quickly, India can because of the amount of young talent that they have," Ponting noted. "I've seen it first hand for 10 years now around the IPL and we've seen the emergence of Jaiswal and these sort of guys that have come into international cricket with India and done really well pretty much straight away. "The skill side of it's one thing to replace and I think India will replace the skill side of it easily enough, but the experience is the big thing that's going to be missing for them. So now even with a young captain with Shubman Gill, they'll still have some experience around with KL, Rahul and Bumrah and these sort of guys. "But I think if you look at a rebuilding sort of phase, I think India can cope with it better than most other teams." The decision to include uncapped pacer Arshdeep Singh surprised many, but Ponting has been a long-time admirer of the left-armer and has worked closely with the 26-year-old in the Indian Premier League with the Punjab Kings this year. Ponting believes conditions in England will suit Arshdeep and expects to see India include him in their playing XI. "I would actually have him in their Test team at the start (of the England series)," Ponting said. "He's very skillful, he's played County cricket, he knows the conditions there and I think the Dukes Ball will help him in the UK as well. "And I just think to have that point of difference, having a left-armer in your team, I think will be something that, if India don't do it then it'll be a bit of a surprise to me. "As we know in England the ball still swings 30, 40 or 50 overs old. So to have someone that's got that swing bowling ability and a left-armer I think is something that the Indian team should definitely look out for on that tour." India Test squad for England: Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (vc, wk), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudarshan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav. The ICC ReviewICC World Test ChampionshipNewsRicky Ponting
Int'l Cricket Council
a day ago
- Int'l Cricket Council
England quick primed for big Test comeback against India
As England announced the squad for the first Test against India starting 20 June, right-arm pacer Jofra Archer was among the major names missing from the lineup. Having sustained a thumb injury, Archer was also absent from England's recent white-ball outings against West Indies and was omitted from a 15-member squad for the England Lions' second unofficial Test against India A. But recent developments indicate that Archer might be back in the mix sooner, with England national selector Luke Wright stating that the pacer is on course to make a return ahead of the second Test against India, starting on 2 July in Birmingham. Speaking to Sky Sports, Wright said, "Joff's trucking on really well, actually. The plans for him, he's playing a few second-team games. "He's getting a few loading up in the second team for Sussex, and then the idea for him is to play for Sussex against Durham, I think on the 23rd, just during the first Test. "So, he'll play for Sussex if all things go well, and then if things go well, fingers crossed, he should be available for the second Test. Another speedster missing out from the squad for the first Test is Mark Wood. The 35-year-old had picked up a knee injury during the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, ruling him out for four months. Wright conceded that while Wood has started off with light training, his full recovery is expected to be a longer one, towards the end of the India series. Mark Wood limps off the field | AFG v ENG | Champions Trophy 2025 Mark Wood limps off the field | AFG v ENG | Champions Trophy 2025 **"**I think Woody's now started bowling just lightly, to be honest. He's just off a few paces, but that's been a great sign," he said. "So, he's on the road to recovery. I think he's more long-term, if we can get him back, he might have an option for the fourth or fifth Test. But again, each day it's ticking off each box and making sure he's okay. "But he's trucking on well and same with Stoney. So, we are starting to get boys back, but they're still further away than right now. But it would be nice having those options back as well." England and India will lock horns in the first of five Tests starting 20 June in Headingley, marking the beginning of a new ICC World Test Championship cycle. ICC World Test ChampionshipNewsJofra ArcherEngland
