Jofra Archer ruled out of New Zealand Test series with elbow concerns

Archer, who returned to action for Sussex in their County Championship match against Kent this week at Hove as he ramped up his recovery from an elbow problem, only bowled five overs in Kent’s second innings

Jofra Archer has been ruled out of England’s upcoming Test series against New Zealand starting next month.

Archer, who returned to action for Sussex in their County Championship match against Kent this week at Hove as he ramped up his recovery from an elbow problem, bowled just five overs in Kent’s second innings.

He was suffering from pain in his right elbow when bowling and was unable to bowl in the final two days of the match, having begun the match promisingly by dismissing international teammate Zak Crawley and Kent stand-in captain Daniel Bell-Drummond.

An ECB statement declared: “The England and Sussex medical teams will now seek guidance, and Archer will see a medical consultant later this week to determine the next course of action on the management of the issue.”

Initially, the injury saw him miss England’s ODI series in India two months ago, before he was ruled out of an Indian Premier League stint with Rajasthan Royals. He stepped up his return to action last week, turning out for Sussex's second team against Surrey's second string and seemed to come through that appearance unscathed.

When Jofra Archer faced Gloucestershire's second team: "For a young player, it couldn't be any better"

However, speaking after the conclusion of his side’s draw on Sunday, Sussex captain Ben Brown said: “The issue here is a sad one for Jofra. He’s a champion cricketer, so talented and so gifted, but at the moment he cannot do what he wants to do, he cannot do his skill.

“I really feel for him. He’s in a difficult situation, with that skill of bowling really fast being taken away from him if you like. This week has been very challenging for him. He was hopeful about how it would go, but he’s felt pretty sore in this game.”

“We all want him to be fully fit and firing for England and for the Ashes and things like that. We tried to do what was right for Jofra’s career, and he needed to play in this match to prove his fitness, but it just hasn’t worked out this week.”