Ben Stokes’ England should take a punt and play Jofra Archer, the injury-prone fast bowler, in the third Test against India at Lord’s on Thursday.
England were thrashed by India at Edgbaston, losing by 336 runs. The five-match ICC World Test Championship series is now level at 1-1.
Archer joined the England team at Edgbaston last week. He hasn’t played Test cricket in over four years but played a first-class game for Sussex recently.
Anderson told ICC: “If you wait too long to play Archer and try to build up his overs, it might be too late in the series. He’ll play because the game is too big not to.” Archer played one game for Sussex and was with the team at Edgbaston where he bowled a bit.
Brendon McCullum, the England coach, didn’t promise Archer would play but said he was fit and available. “He looks fit, strong and ready to go, which is exciting. He’s excited too.” McCullum said they all know what Archer can do in Test cricket and hope he can recapture and improve on his past performances when he gets the chance.
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Earlier, England added fast bowler Gus Atkinson to their squad for the third Test. They announced a 16-man squad for the Lord’s Test just hours after losing to India by 336 runs in Birmingham.
The England squad for the third Test: Ben Stokes (c), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Sam Cook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jamie Overton, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Josh Tongue, Chris Woakes.
