‘Jofra Archer has no interest in Tests’ – Simon Doull criticises England seamer for his absence in series opener vs New Zealand

Jofra Archer won’t be playing the first Test between England and New Zealand, which gets underway on Thursday, June 4, at the iconic Lord’s Cricket Ground in London. The in-form seamer has returned to Barbados after a great stint for the Rajasthan Royals in the recently concluded Indian Premier League.

According to England head coach Brendon McCullum, Archer will be joining the England setup ahead of the second Test and the medical team will assess his fitness thereafter.

Former New Zealand pacer Simon Doull slammed Archer for not being available for the first Test. The cricketer-turned-expert said that the likes of Tim Southee, Trent Boult, and Matt Henry had practised with the red ball between IPL matches the last time New Zealand toured England.

“It’s ludicrous. Absolutely ludicrous. How are you paying this guy up to a £1 million per year and he’s not available for your first Test match? It is absolutely ludicrous,” Doull said while speaking on the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast

“The last time that New Zealand came here, Tim Southee, Trent Boult and Matt Henry were all practising in between games in the IPL with a red ball and getting through overs and overs and overs so that they were ready to go when they arrived. I think they arrived five days before the first Test after the IPL. There is no reason that Archer couldn’t have been bowling six, seven overs each in between days. The fact that he’s not doing that tells me he has no interest in playing Test cricket,” he added.

Doull opined that Archer could have used the gap between IPL matches to prepare himself for the red-ball assignment against New Zealand.

“In between days, he needs to be bowling five overs, six overs, seven overs with the red ball so that he’s ready to go. And there’s enough time. If you’re doing that in between games, there’s enough time to come back here for a week and get ready for a Test match. There’s no issue with that. So I think it’s completely wrong,” he added.