
‘If all goes well' Jofra Archer could make England Test return against India
A 14-man squad will travel to Headingley for the first Test, with Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Jamie Overton and Bethell all returning after missing the season's curtain-raiser against Zimbabwe last month.
Archer was not considered for duty due to a broken thumb, the latest in a long sequence of fitness issues that have seen him exiled from the longer format for more than four years.
But the eagerness to see the X-factor quick back in whites remains undiminished, particularly with an Ashes winter coming up.
'If things go well… He should be available for the second Test.' 👀
🗣️ @LukeWright204
Speed guns at the ready 🔥 pic.twitter.com/wnISqywDy8
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) June 5, 2025
A potential route that sees him back in time to play at Edgbaston at the start of July has been mapped out, with a low-key outing for Sussex's second XI followed by a Rothesay County Championship game against Durham from June 22.
Should he come through both assignments unscathed, the path could be clear for him to finally begin the long-awaited second chapter of a Test career that began with a bang against Australia in 2019.
'If things go well, he should be available for the second Test,' said selector Luke Wright.
'He's got to keep ticking off every day and getting no sort of setbacks, but if all goes well and Jofra gets through that Durham game, then he's available potentially for selection for that second Test.
'We'll watch him in that game for Sussex and see where he's at. He's such a talent, it doesn't take him too long to get up to speed.
'We can assess it from there: how he's bowled, how he's feeling, and if we want him to go for that second Test, we can asses as we go. We'll know more after that game.'
With Gus Atkinson absent with a hamstring strain from the Zimbabwe game, England are expected to go in with a pace attack of Carse, Woakes and Josh Tongue.
That would position Sam Cook as back-up to Woakes after a middling debut at Trent Bridge and Overton as cover for the quicker pair on his return to the Test squad after three years away.
A thornier decision awaits when it comes to Bethell. England rate the 21-year-old extremely highly following his impressive maiden series in New Zealand before Christmas and he was in eye-catching form during the recent ODI clean sweep against West Indies.
'He's very close to it, it's a great option to have, isn't it?' Wright said of Bethell.
Captain Ben Stokes has become frustrated at media speculation that Bethell could come in for his deputy Ollie Pope, who scored a fine century against Zimbabwe to seemingly shore up his spot at number three, but the question is not going away.
Wright stopped short of offering an iron-clad promise that Pope would retain his position against India but both he and Zak Crawley appear likely to stay in place, in the short term at least.
'What a talent we all see in him. We'll get together when we get up to Leeds and announce that two days out from the Test,' Wright said.
'We'll consider everything: conditions, what has gone before. All of those considerations go into the melting pot.'
England squad for the first Test against India: B Stokes (c), S Bashir, J Bethell, H Brook, B Carse, S Cook, Z Crawley, B Duckett, J Overton, O Pope, J Root, J Smith (wkt), J Tongue, C Woakes.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Metro
4 hours ago
- Metro
Was Carlos Alcaraz's French Open triumph sport's greatest comeback?
Facing three championship points against the world No.1 in the fourth set of the French Open final, the writing was not just on the wall for Carlos Alcaraz, but possibly being etched, in the form of Jannik Sinner's name, into the Coupe des Mousquetaires. What happened next will go down in tennis and even sporting history as one of the greatest comebacks ever. Alcaraz, who had been two sets down, saved the match points, won the fourth set and took the fifth on a tie-break to seal victory in five hours, 29 minutes. 'For the sport it's something amazing,' said his coach Juan Carlos Ferrero. 'Having these two guys fighting for big trophies, we have to be very happy about it in tennis. They know they have to play unbelievable to beat the other guy.' But where does it rank alongside sport's other great comebacks? Wake up to find news on your club in your inbox every morning with Metro's Football Newsletter. Sign up to our newsletter and then select your team in the link so we can send you football news tailored to you. Six years after Manchester United came back from the dead to beat Bayern Munich in the Champions League final, Liverpool said 'hold my beer'. Lucky to be only 3-0 down to an experienced Milan at half-time in Istanbul, Rafa Benitez's men somehow clawed their way back to 3-3 and took the game to extra-time before winning on penalties. Leeds was the scene for two all-rounders' most iconic Ashes moments and impossible wins. In 1981 Ian Botham's unbeaten 149 inspired England to victory after following on. Ben Stokes hit 135 not out, putting on 73 with last man Jack Leach (one) in 2019 for a one-wicket triumph. Europe's golfers were facing a humiliating defeat in the USA in 2012, as they trailed 10-4 on Saturday afternoon. A dramatic late foursomes win inspired by Ian Poulter closed the overnight gap slightly and then the visitors dominated the singles to triumph 14½-13½. Super Bowl LI between the Atlanta Falcons and the New England Patriots will forever be known as '28-3′ – the lead the Falcons' held in the third quarter. The only trouble is, the final score was 28-34 – to the Patriots. Why do Spanish clubs talk incessantly about winning a European tie after being thrashed in the first leg? Blame the original remontada (comeback). Paris Saint-Germain beat Barcelona 4-0 in the first leg of their 2017 last-16 tie. Barca won the return 6-1 to triumph 6-5 on aggregate. Dave Wottle's Olympic 800metres triump in Munich in 1972 was one for the ages. More Trending Miles adrift early on and trailing the pack at the bell, the American in a golf cap charged through the field to take the unlikeliest gold medal. Just six weeks after being read the last rites after a horrifying crash at the 1976 German Grand Prix left him with terrible burns, Niki Lauda was back in Formula One and finished fourth at Monza. He missed out on the world title by a single point. Injuries and the trauma caused by the fatal 2003 shooting of her half-sister contributed to Serena Williams plunging down the tennis rankings in the mid-2000s. But a player dubbed the queen of comebacks rose again, defying expectations to win the 2007 Australian Open. MORE: Manchester United to offer first-team player in 'package deal' to sign Victor Osimhen MORE: Viktor Gyokeres sends furious message to Sporting after Man Utd and Arsenal handed new asking price MORE: Manchester United advised to sign £40m Arsenal target in Marcus Rashford swap deal


Glasgow Times
21 hours ago
- Glasgow Times
Steve Smith not thinking about Ashes as Australia prepare for World Test final
England have been vocal about their long-term planning being geared towards building a team capable of wresting the urn from Australia for the first time in a decade ahead of the 2025-26 series Down Under. However, Smith is zoned in on this week's World Test Championship final against South Africa at Lord's, starting on Wednesday, before Australia head to the Caribbean for three Tests and five T20s. Steve Smith trains at Lord's ahead of the World Test Championship final (Ben Whitley/PA) 'The Ashes is a big series but you also can't look too far ahead,' said Smith, winner of the Compton–Miller Medal for player of the Ashes series in 2017-18 and 2019. 'You've got to keep playing each game as it comes, every game is important with the World Test Championship on the line. 'That's the reason it came in: to make every Test more relevant. We go to the West Indies next week and we've got a series there, that'll be the next focus after this game.' Australia's last Test visit to Lord's in the 2023 Ashes saw an extraordinary bust-up between a couple of players and Marylebone Cricket Club members, one of whom was expelled and two others suspended. Asked about sort of reception he is anticipating from the members this time, Smith replied: 'Unsure, and I'm actually not fussed either way.' Australia defeated India in the 2023 final and are overwhelming favourites to see off the Proteas, whose place at the showpiece has been questioned, including by former England captain Michael Vaughan. Vaughan said they got there 'on the back of beating pretty much nobody', while ex-Australia spinner Kerry O'Keeffe likened their run to 'making the Wimbledon final without playing a seed along the way'. South Africa played only a dozen Tests in the 2023-25 edition and did not have to face either England or Australia, although six successive wins saw them book their spot in the final with a match to spare. Head coach Shukri Conrad said: 'I'm tired of speaking about it, we're here and that's all that matters. We get a chance to walk away World Test champions. 'Playing Australia, it doesn't get any bigger than that. What's gone before counts for absolutely nothing at the minute. We're quietly confident going into this game that we can pull one over them. 'We still hold Test cricket very dearly, our fixture list might not speak to that, but this is the biggest final all of our players have ever been involved in and their biggest match.' Stuart Broad joined South Africa as a consultant on Monday (Ben Whitley/PA) Conrad and his coaching staff had dinner on Sunday evening with former England seamer Stuart Broad, who took 113 of his 604 Test wickets at Lord's and has more dismissals against Australia than anyone else. Broad joined South Africa as a consultant at practice on Monday to pass on tips to the likes of Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen about dealing with the notorious slope at the home of cricket. 'It was just a casual chat and if I didn't call time at 10:30pm, I think he'd still be there chatting to us,' Conrad said. 'It was really enlightening, really casual and everybody walked away thinking 'that was great', Broady included.'


South Wales Guardian
21 hours ago
- South Wales Guardian
Steve Smith not thinking about Ashes as Australia prepare for World Test final
England have been vocal about their long-term planning being geared towards building a team capable of wresting the urn from Australia for the first time in a decade ahead of the 2025-26 series Down Under. However, Smith is zoned in on this week's World Test Championship final against South Africa at Lord's, starting on Wednesday, before Australia head to the Caribbean for three Tests and five T20s. 'The Ashes is a big series but you also can't look too far ahead,' said Smith, winner of the Compton–Miller Medal for player of the Ashes series in 2017-18 and 2019. 'You've got to keep playing each game as it comes, every game is important with the World Test Championship on the line. 'That's the reason it came in: to make every Test more relevant. We go to the West Indies next week and we've got a series there, that'll be the next focus after this game.' Australia's last Test visit to Lord's in the 2023 Ashes saw an extraordinary bust-up between a couple of players and Marylebone Cricket Club members, one of whom was expelled and two others suspended. Asked about sort of reception he is anticipating from the members this time, Smith replied: 'Unsure, and I'm actually not fussed either way.' Australia defeated India in the 2023 final and are overwhelming favourites to see off the Proteas, whose place at the showpiece has been questioned, including by former England captain Michael Vaughan. Vaughan said they got there 'on the back of beating pretty much nobody', while ex-Australia spinner Kerry O'Keeffe likened their run to 'making the Wimbledon final without playing a seed along the way'. South Africa played only a dozen Tests in the 2023-25 edition and did not have to face either England or Australia, although six successive wins saw them book their spot in the final with a match to spare. Head coach Shukri Conrad said: 'I'm tired of speaking about it, we're here and that's all that matters. We get a chance to walk away World Test champions. 'Playing Australia, it doesn't get any bigger than that. What's gone before counts for absolutely nothing at the minute. We're quietly confident going into this game that we can pull one over them. 'We still hold Test cricket very dearly, our fixture list might not speak to that, but this is the biggest final all of our players have ever been involved in and their biggest match.' Conrad and his coaching staff had dinner on Sunday evening with former England seamer Stuart Broad, who took 113 of his 604 Test wickets at Lord's and has more dismissals against Australia than anyone else. Broad joined South Africa as a consultant at practice on Monday to pass on tips to the likes of Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen about dealing with the notorious slope at the home of cricket. 'It was just a casual chat and if I didn't call time at 10:30pm, I think he'd still be there chatting to us,' Conrad said. 'It was really enlightening, really casual and everybody walked away thinking 'that was great', Broady included.'