CMC – NEWLY-minted England fast bowler, Jofra Archer, believes he is well prepared for the challenges of the ICC World Cup despite his lack of experience in One-Day Internationals.
The Barbadian, who qualifies for England through his British father, was on Tuesday named in the Lions’ final 15-man World Cup squad after playing a mere three ODIs earlier this month.
Archer, however, has had a couple of season in both the Indian Premier League and the Australian Big Bash and believes the demands of franchise cricket has served him well.
“I think I’m ready. I’ve played a lot of cricket outside of 50-over so I know how to deal with pressure – crowds. I think I am ready,” he told Sky Sports.
“Obviously because of that cricket I wasn’t able to play much List A for Sussex but you don’t forget how to bowl really. I think you get more opportunities to bowl than in T20, you get another six extra overs to take more wickets.”
Archer snapped up 11 wickets in as many matches for Rajasthan Royals to follow up on an impressive debut IPL season when he took 15 wickets in 10 outings.
And having bowled against some of the world’s best batsmen in the IPL, Archer said he would bring that knowledge into the World Cup.
“I think I have bigger advantage over some of the other guys in our team,” he explained.
“We play them (opposing batsmen) twice in the IPL and you know their weaknesses, you know their strengths, you know if they can’t run between the wickets – you get an extra bit of inside information.”
Archer, who became eligible for selection in March after the England and Wales Cricket Board reduced its residency period from seven years to three, had been ignored in the preliminary World Cup squad.
However, he impressed with his pace in subsequent matches against Ireland and Pakistan, forcing left-arm seamer David Willey out of the final squad for the showpiece which bowls off May 30.
The 24-year-old Archer, who played for West Indies Under-19s in the past but had long expressed his desire to represent England, said he was thrilled with his selection.
“I got a call from Ed Smith (convenor of selectors) yesterday (Monday) maybe about six o’clock,” he recalled.
“I was actually driving at the time and I just felt the phone vibrate and I answered it without looking at it. It is really, really exciting to be part of a big summer of English cricket.”
He added: “I had put it in my head that I had to wait seven years. Back in December they obviously changed it a little bit but I was always prepared to wait however long it would have taken.”
