Jofra Archer: If I can play one Ashes Test this summer, I'll be happy

Archer hasn't played a Test match since February 2021 after missing nearly two years of cricket following a succession of injuries. He returned to the international stage in January 2023

England bowler Jofra Archer has modest ambitions for the 2023 Ashes, admitting he would be "happy" to feature in just one of the five Tests against Australia.

Archer was absent from the international stage for nearly two years due to a succession of injuries, including a persistent elbow problem, an operation to remove glass from his finger following a freak accident while cleaning a fish tank, and a stress fracture in his back.

The 27-year-old returned to England colours in January during a three-match ODI series against South Africa but hasn't played a Test match since the third Test against India in Ahmedabad in February 2021. His most recent first-class outing came for Sussex against Kent in May 2021.

"If I can play one game this summer, I'll be happy," he said. "If I can play more than one, that's just a bonus. I haven't lost an Ashes series as yet, so hopefully we can keep it that way.

^{Archer returned to international cricket in January 2023 [Charle Lombard/Getty Images]}

"To be honest, coming back and playing cricket for England again means I have already done what I wanted to do. I said 18 months ago, I was going to be back, and now I am back, hopefully I have a long career."

Reflecting philosophically on his injury struggles, he continued: "Sometimes you've still got that feeling in the back of your mind that you're still not ready yet.

"But for me, I just put that behind me and whatever happens happens. If you're supposed to get injured again, then there's nothing you can do about it. Until that times comes, I'm just going to give everything I've got. You're back here again so, you know, you might as well just give it your all.

"If I'm told I'm not playing, I don't question it. Usually back-to-back games, I don't even bother to ask because I already know what the answer is.

"There's a lot of cricket coming up and I'm just doing everything I can to stay on the park. I don't think I can play all of it, it wouldn't be sensible. Whatever the medical team tells me I can do, I'm all for it. I'm happy with how the body has held up.

^{Archer made his Test debut during the 2019 Ashes [Alex Davidson/Getty Images]}

"There is always more in tank but I'm progressing and peaking at the right time."

Archer made his Test debut during the 2019 Ashes, lighting up the drawn series with 22 wickets at 20.27, eight of which came during the third Test at Headingley. A return to the red-ball side this summer would bring his career full circle.

"Nothing but great memories," Archer said, reflecting on the 2019 summer. "Probably the best ever Test you'll witness. That summer is probably one of the best summers I've had ever.

"Hopefully this summer will have the opportunity to surpass it, but I don't think there'll be many other summers of cricket that are better than that."

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