Former New Zealand pacer-turned-commentator Simon Doull is not happy with England speedster Jofra Archer skipping the first Test of the series and prioritising the Indian Premier League (IPL). Doull wonders why England Cricket Board (ECB) is paying Archer a huge amount when he is not available for a crucial Test and doubtful for the second Test at Kennington Oval as well. Doull termed it 'absolutely ludicrous'.
"It's ludicrous. Absolutely ludicrous,” Doull was quoted as saying by Sky Sports Cricket.
"How are you paying this guy up to a £1m per year and he's not available for your first Test match? It is absolutely ludicrous.”
He recalled how New Zealand pace trio Tim Southee, Trent Boult and Matt Henry practiced with red ball during the IPL and didn't miss the Test series right after the long T20 competition.
"The last time that New Zealand came here... Tim Southee, Trent Boult and Matt Henry were all practising in between games in the IPL with a red ball and getting through overs and overs and overs so that they were ready to go when they arrived,” Doull recalled.
"I think they arrived five days before the first Test after the IPL and that previous tour. OK, it didn't work out. New Zealand lost the series 3-0. But there is no reason that Archer couldn't have been bowling six, seven overs each in between days.”
Is Archer non-committal to Test cricket?
He wonders whether Archer has any interest in playing Test cricket. He feels that the Barbados-born pacer could’ve easily increased his workload in-between games.
"The fact that he's not doing that tells me he has no interest in playing Test cricket,” Doull opined.
"In between days, he needs to be bowling five overs, six overs, seven overs with the red ball so that he's ready to go.
"And there's enough time. If you're doing that in between games, there's enough time to come back here for a week and get ready for a Test match. There's no issue with that.
"So I think it's completely wrong."
Archer yet to respond
Ahead of the first Test, head coach Brendon McCullum has already revealed that Archer will be assessed for the second Test which is scheduled to start on June 17. Archer, who played Rajasthan Royals’ (RR) all games up till Qualifier 2 where they lost to Gujarat Titans (GT), is yet to respond to the chatter around his actions igniting country versus club debate.