Jofra Archer: 'I know my body can hold up to red-ball cricket'

Jofra Archer says that the mental challenge of returning to four-day cricket after a four-year absence has been a bigger issue than the physical toil. However, he is confident that his body will be ready for Test cricket if he gets the call-up later this summer.

Speaking to Sussex Cricket at Chester-le-Street after the second day's play, where he had dismissed Emilio Gay lbw for his first first-class wicket for 1,501 days, Archer admitted the experience had been "mentally tough" on a surface that offered very little lateral movement for the bowlers.

"I'm glad to just finish a day of four-day cricket," he said. "Last time I played [against Kent at Hove in May 2021], I just made it to tea, so I'm glad to go all the way today.

"When the scoreboard got to 50 overs, I was, like, 'Jesus, time to come off now!'" he joked. "But it wasn't too bad. Doing it session-by-session was okay, but the pitch didn't do much.

"Today could have been the longest day I've ever had, and not because it's red-ball cricket," he added. "I've been in the field for two-and-a-half days before, and it still didn't feel as long as today. When the ball is moving, and you're getting something off the pitch, it feels a bit more exciting."

However, crucially for Archer's hopes of getting back into the Test team - for whom he last featured on the tour of India in 2020-21 - his body has so far shown no reaction to the added toil of red-ball cricket.

"It felt all right today," he said. "I've been playing for a year, and bowling for two years, including the build-up, so everything is fine.

"There have been no restrictions on this game," he added, when asked if the ECB had requested that he limit his workload. "Whatever I did, I did. Obviously there can't be a limit if you're looking at a Test match. They were in the field for a day-and-a-half [in the first Test at Headingley].

"You can't have restrictions if you're potentially going to go in. You put your body through as much pressure, safely, as possible, to put yourself in the best position."

Archer's return to action this summer was delayed by an injured right thumb that he sustained during the IPL. However, he classified that setback alongside the freak glass cut he received from a broken fishtank back in 2021, calling it more of an "accident than an injury" compared to the career-threatening elbow and back fractures that have chequered his recent career.

"If you get cut in the kitchen with a knife, no-one's going to call it an injury," he said. "It's similar with my thumb. I just got hit while batting as we do all the time, but unfortunately it got fractured. If it was my left thumb I could have carried on and no-one would know but, because it was my bowling hand, I had to give it a bit of care.

"But injuries are injuries. Nobody gets injured on purpose, no one knows when they will happen … it can be in the gym, or rehab, pre-hab, or whatever. If you're supposed to get injured, there's nothing you can do to get away from it."

Asked if he could ever have envisaged a return to first-class cricket during his long lay-off, Archer replied: "Back then, I didn't have the choice because I didn't think my body could hold up to it.

"Now it's a different challenge, because I know my body can hold up to it. The mental part of the game [will be tough]. Over the next couple of days, I'm going to have to battle a bit with it, but it's all good. It's a new challenge, and I'll keep trucking along."