Thumb injury rules Archer out of Windies ODIs to delay possible Test return as Woakes eyes India series

England will be without the services of Jofra Archer when the West Indies cricket team arrive on their shores in a week's time as the express pacer was ruled out with a thumb-injury sustained while playing for Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League. The 30-year-old had initially been named in the ODI squad for the three-match series beginning in Birmingham on May 29 but hurt his digit while fielding against the Kolkata Knight Riders, forcing him to miss the remainder of the T20 league. Archer has been replaced in the squad by Luke Wood, who has two ODI caps to his name and was already a part of the five-match T20I squad.

The setback is a first for Archer since 2024 after he underwent multiple elbow surgeries and a major back stress-fracture in the three-year period preceding it, causing his demotion from an all-format star for England to being on the fringes. However, since his return last year, Archer has already played 10 ODIs and 19 T20Is as well as featured in The Hundred and the IPL. The stint was enough for England Cricket Board chief Rob Key to claim in that the pacer might feature in a couple of home Tests against India across June-July, even though Archer last played a first-class game in 2021. The right-arm fast was thus not part of the T20I squad for the West Indies endeavour as well, perhaps with an eye on fielding Archer for England Lions games slated to be held concurrently.

The latest injury means Archer now does not feature in a strong squad named by the ECB for the two tour-matches against India beginning May 30 and June 6 respectively. Nevertheless, the James Rew-captained side does feature Chris Woakes for the second of those games, who last played in the SA20 in January before sustaining an ankle injury. 

Woakes' current rival for the Test spot when things get underway against India in Leeds on June 20 is Essex's Sam Cook who will make his Test debut against Zimbabwe after leading the County Championship for wickets across the last five seasons. However, the swing bowler has served as England's red-ball spearhead at home since after James Anderson's retirement, and has 51 Test wickets over the last two years at under 22.