Jofra Archer picks up two wickets in County Championship on return to competitive cricket

London: England speedster Jofra Archer made a successful return to cricket from an injury lay-off, scalping two wickets in his first competitive match in more than one and a half months. Turning out for Sussex in a County Championship game against Kent on Thursday, Archer finished with figures of 2 for 29 from his 13 overs, which included the wickets of Zak Crawley and Kent skipper Bell Drummond, as the tourists were bundled out for 145. “My fitness is fine. I thought I bowled okay. I played in the (Sussex) second team last week and it’s good to get some confidence and I felt fine,” a pleased Archer said. “I bowled in short spells for protection in case we had a long day but it was overcast, which helped a bit. There was a bit of management, but it all worked out.” Archer, whose last appearance was the fifth T20I between India and England on 20 March, was struggling with a freak hand injury and later underwent surgery to remove a glass fragment from a tendon on his right hand after an attempt to clean his fish tank went wrong. The 26-year-pacer had sustained the injury at his home in January and the surgery was conducted while he was still undergoing treatment for a long-term elbow injury. The injury woes forced Archer to pull out of the now-suspended IPL 2021. The ongoing match is Archer’s last chance to prove his fitness ahead of England’s Test series against New Zealand, which starts on 2 June at Lord’s.