ENG vs NZ ODI Series: Jofra Archer not in England's World Cup plans, suggests latest snub

It could be the end of the road for England’s Jofra Archer with the national team after he was snubbed for the upcoming ODI series against New Zealand. The 15-member squad announced on Wednesday, August 16 did not have Archer’s name in it, indicating the end of the road for him at least temporarily with the national team. It is expected that England will name the same 15-member squad for the World Cup in India barring any last-minute injury changes. The squad saw the return of Ben Stokes, but there was no place for Archer.

End of the road for Archer?

"There has got to be a duty of care with Jof. We know how desperate we all are to have him - there's no doubt about that - but we've also got to get it right for him. He's been very unfortunate with these injuries.. regarding the World Cup, unfortunately, we're just running out of time,” England’s chief selector Luke Wright said after the squad announcement.

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Archer has endured a tough last 24 months where he has been out of the national team set-up due to frequent injuries. England’s 2019 World Cup star has quickly gone under the radar with injuries that saw him miss the entire 2022 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) while also missing a chunk in the 2023 editionfor Mumbai Indians.

"He's not going to come round quite quick enough, especially for the first part of the World Cup. There is a duty of care with him. We have to make sure that long-term, we get it right because we see him as a huge asset for a long time. As much as the temptation is to try and rush him in and get him in for the start of this World Cup, unfortunately, we're just going to run out of time,” Archer added.

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While it looks to be the end of the road for Archer, Test skipper Ben Stokes has returnedfrom retirement to be part of the New Zealand series. It is most likely that he will be part of the World Cup squad, likely to be announced before September 5. Stokes has not featured for the England national team in the white-ball format since November 2022, when he led the nation to the T20 World Cup against Pakistan in the final at Melbourne.

England ODI Squad vs NZ:

Jos Buttler (capt), Moeen Ali, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley, David Willey, Mark Wood, Chris Woakes

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