England’s T20i player, Jofra Archer played his first match in almost two months with Sussex and ended up taking two wickets in the game against Kent.

Archer has been out of action since March when England faced India in the T20 international. He had to undergo hand surgery after enduring a long-standing issue with his elbow. He was also planning to play in the Indian Premier League until the tournament had to be suspended due to rising COVID cases in the country. This was also Archer’s first appearance for Sussex at the County Championship since September 2018.

Sussex finished the game trailing 51 for 2 trailing Kent for 145. This did not, however, dampen the effect Archer had on the team. He has been training actively since his return to England and even took part in a training session with Sussex’s second XI last week. He is expected to take part in England’s upcoming Test against New Zealand next month. There could be a match before then but that is still in doubt like he noted after the match; “I would ideally have another game next week but we’re off and then we play Northamptonshire. I don’t know what the plan is but I’d be happy to play again before the Test series.” When asked if he would like to play in the upcoming Test, he said, “My fitness is fine and If I’m fit, I guess I’ll be selected and if I’m not, then I’ll continue working hard to get back. There’s nothing else you can do.”

All the glory for Sussex does not go to Archer alone as his teammates including Jack Carson and George Garton, who helped dismiss Ollie Robinson and all-rounder, Darren Stevens.

Rain and wet pitch prevented 3 other fixtures from happening on the opening day of the County Championship; Glamorgan vs Yorkshire at Cardiff, Essex vs Derbyshire at Chelmsford, and Somerset vs Surrey at Taunton.

Written by: Leon Osamor