England head coach Trevor Bayliss has hinted at Jofra Archer being in contention for the upcoming 2019 World Cup insisting that the One-Day International series against Pakistan in early May at home could well be a proving ground for his selection in the quadrennial event.
“Jofra Archer’s name keeps cropping up and I think, at some stage, we will give him an opportunity,” Bayliss said after England’s defeat in the fifth ODI against West Indies. “Those matches against Pakistan and Ireland, I think he will get an opportunity to show us what he can do. He’s said publicly that he’s keen.
“He’s a bowler you don’t get many of: someone who is able to bowl in all three phases of the game. He can take the new ball, he can bowl through the middle and he can bowl at the end which is a good skillset to have.”
An out and out pace bowler and a handy lower order batsman, Archer is also a gun fielder, which makes him a very tough candidate to leave out.
“We’ve got to have the squad in by April 23, but there’s a month after that to change it,” Bayliss said. “There’s the Pakistan series before then, so we’ll have discussions about whether he plays, because the absolute final date [for naming the World Cup squad] is May 22.
“We’d like it [the initial squad] to be as close as it can be [to the final 15], but we could try someone like Jofra in those matches and make a decision one way or another.”
