Jofra Archer, England all-rounder, World Cup 2019 Player Full Profile: Archer's all-round brilliance lends balance, X-factor to England squad

Ever since Jofra Archer set out his stall to play for England rather than his native West Indies, he has been talked of as an all-format cricketer for his adopted country. The issue was he needed to qualify for England despite having a British passport. The somewhat draconian ECB seven-year residency rule was reduced to three years, bringing it in line with ICC regulations, and almost as soon as England could pick him, they did. And almost as soon as he was given the ball in international cricket, it was clear that he would be in England’s final World Cup squad.

Archer may be new to international cricket, but he has been around for a long time now. He was first brought to the attention of the Sussex coaching staff by Chris Jordan, another Barbadian with a British passport who made his way to England. It wasn’t long before Archer had impressed enough to make his first-class debut in 2016 against the touring Pakistanis, taking five wickets in the match with four of those in the first innings.

Before long, he was turning out for the Hobart Hurricanes in the Big Bash and going for eye-watering sums in the IPL auction. Now he has the chance to light up a World Cup, make it into an Ashes squad for England and become one of the global superstars of world cricket. Now, all of this may sound like getting carried away, but when you have a guy who can bowl at 145kph plus, can smash big sixes and field like an acrobat, it is hard to not get excited.

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