I got dropped and no-one looked out for me - Jofra Archer reveals how he was snubbed by West Indies
England's World Cup hero Jofra Archer has revealed how he was snubbed by West Indies during his teenage days, and what prompted him to move to England. Born in Barbados, Archer represented the Windies at the U-19 level before moving to England in 2016 and plying his trade with Sussex ever since.
If you had told Jofra Archer, a young boy who was left out of the West Indies U-19 World Cup Squad in 2014 that six years later, he would bowl the Super Over to help England clinch their maiden World Cup trophy, he would have probably laughed it off. Five years later, reality has been a living dream for Archer, who has got and achieved more than he would have ever hoped for.
However, like every other success story, he had to toil hard and get through the lowest of lows to attain the position he is in, right now. In 2014, Archer was overlooked by the West Indies for the U-19 World Cup squad and got injured soon after, and Archer has now revealed that he then realized that he had no realistic chance of ever playing for the Windies at the International level.
"I was left out of the Under 19 World Cup in 2014 and then I got injured shortly after," Archer was quoted as saying by Daily Mail.
"There was never really a chance of playing for the senior West Indies team. I got dropped and no-one looked out for me," he added.
Archer reveals how utter ignorance from the West Indies management prompted him to leave the country, and how he was completely overlooked and not attended to, even during times when he was injured.
"The Barbados Under 19 manager tried to get me a physio but he was doing it off his own back. The instruction from West Indies wasn't that good but it's got better since I left. It's just a shame it took someone leaving for them to see what was going on," he said.
Like Archer, English International Chris Jordan had also moved to England from Barbados several years ago, and when the duo met each other, little did Archer know that his life was going to turn around. Jordan, who was then playing for Sussex, introduced Archer, who had a British passport, to the then coach of Sussex Mark Robinson, who was instantly impressed by Archer. Archer was then handed his first-class debut instantaneously in a tour match against Pakistan, and the 24-year-old hasn't looked back since then.
"I bumped into Chris Jordan a few weeks later when he was in Barbados. We trained together and I ended up bowling to him and we got talking. I told him I had a British passport and asked if there was anything he could do for me in England," Archer recalled.
"He spoke to Mark Robinson at Sussex and they wanted to have a look at me. At first the injury was still affecting me and I went back home before I came back to play club cricket in England as a batter. I still trained with Sussex and the physios helped me until my back healed and I was able to play second team cricket.
"Then Jason Swift, the seconds coach, told me I was playing for the first team against Pakistan. From the moment I bowled my first ball against them my life drastically changed. And my back has been fine ever since, touch wood," he added.
Despite representing Sussex at all levels for three years, Archer had no real ambition of playing for England. However, months ahead of the World Cup, the ECB made a major tweak to the residential rules, which made Archer, who had been residing in England for three years, eligible for selection.
"I really didn't think it would be possible to play for England until the residential rules changed. I'd wanted to but to actually get the opportunity is something else. I know of so many good players who have spent their careers in county cricket and don't really get close so for England to show interest in me was heart-warming," he said. On Saturday, England named Archer in their 14-man squad for the First Ashes Test, and the 24-year-old will be gearing up to help his country regain the urn, with the first Test starting at Edgbaston on August 1st.
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