Cliff Notes – Jofra Archer added to England squad for second Test

Jofra Archer is set to make his Test debut in over four years after being included in the England squad for the second Test against India at Edgbaston.
The selectors made no other changes following England’s 1-0 series lead, with Archer joining a competitive group of six seamers.
Archer, who last played Test cricket in 2021, faces a mental challenge in adapting to multi-day matches after overcoming significant injuries.

Jofra Archer added to England squad for second Test

Jofra Archer could play his first Test in more than four years after being added to the England squad to take on India at Edgbaston next week.

The inclusion of Archer is the only change made by the selectors after England took a 1-0 lead in the series with a five-wicket victory Headingley. The second of five Tests will start on Wednesday.

Archer, who made his first appearance in red-ball cricket since May 2021 when picked for Sussex’s match at Durham in the last round of the County Championship, joins a group of six seamers vying to play in the second Test, with Jamie Overton and Sam Cook both retained alongside the trio of Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse and Josh Tongue.

England Men’s squad for second Test against India ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Archer has not been involved with the Test set-up since the 2021 tour of India, with the last of his 13 caps coming in Ahmedabad. He was subsequently sidelined by the recurrence of an elbow problem and then a back stress fracture, and played just seven limited-overs internationals between March 2021 and May 2024.

He has since returned to regular white-ball action, and made a long-awaited first-class return at Chester-le-Street at the weekend, bowling 18 overs and taking 1 for 32 as Sussex drew with Durham.

Speaking after the second day’s play, Archer admitted that the mental challenge of playing multi-day cricket would be the toughest to adapt to. “It felt all right today,” he said. “I’ve been playing for a year, and bowling for two years, including the build-up, so everything is fine.

“Now it’s a different challenge, because I know my body can hold up to it. The mental part of the game [will be tough]. Over the next couple of days, I’m going to have to battle a bit with it, but it’s all good. It’s a new challenge, and I’ll keep trucking along.”

The second and third Tests, at Edgbaston and Lord’s, will be played back-to-back and England may well look to rotate their attack. Tongue was England’s most-successful bowler at Headingley, with match figures of 7 for 158, while Ben Stokes took five and Carse four. Woakes, playing his first Test since December, had figures of 1 for 148 but might be expected to find greater rhythm after missing the start of the season with an ankle injury.

England Men’s Test squad: Ben Stokes (capt), Jofra Archer, 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