Jofra Archer

About Jofra Archer

Jofra Archer is an international cricketer from England, listed as a bowler. Career years: 2019 - 2026. Batting style: right-hand bat. Bowling style: right-arm fast. Date of birth: 1995-4-1. Career highlights — ODI: 207 runs at avg 18.81; T20I: 114 runs at avg 11.4. Explore complete career numbers, debut matches and match-by-match form below.

Jofra Archer biography

Jofra Archer player profile

Few cricketers have broken into international cricket with as much breathless anticipation in the lead-up as Archer.

A silky fast bowler and dangerous lower-order hitter from Barbados, Archer is capable of hair-raising speeds. He played for West Indies Under-19s in 2013, but soon declared his intention to play for England when he moved to the country, taking advantage of his British passport (thanks to his English father). He broke into Sussex's first-class side in 2016, when he made his debut in all three formats and took 35 wickets in all, 23 of them at 30 runs apiece in Division Two; he also struck 72 in his debut match from No. 8 against Essex. The following season fetched him a bumper crop of Championship wickets - 61 at a little over 25 each in Sussex's fourth-place finish on the table - and an average of over 45 with the bat.

The possibility of Archer's inclusion in England's ODI World Cup squad in 2019 was hotly discussed ahead of that tournament when the ECB changed its qualification rules, which made him eligible after three years of residency rather than the expected seven. He duly played the World Cup, with three ODIs under his belt till then, and starred with 20 wickets in England's run to the title, bowling the Super Over that ended the final - perhaps the most thrilling ODI of all time.

Later that season Archer made an immediate impact in Test cricket too. On debut, he reached speeds of 96mph against Australia at Lord's, striking both Steven Smith and his concussion replacement Marnus Labuschagne, on the helmet. He took 22 wickets in the series, having missed the first Test, including six-fors at Headingley and The Oval.

Things went downill after that. On a lifeless pitch at Mount Maunganui in late 2019, he bowled 42 overs in a single innings, and the workload seemed to take a massive toll: he reported various niggles over the next 18 months, during which he only played a handful of Tests, and in 2021 had surgery on his elbow. After an aborted initial comeback, Archer then suffered a lower-back stress fracture just as he was about to return, and spent nearly two years out of international cricket. However, he returned to white-ball cricket in early 2023, before making a successful Test comeback against India at Lord's in 2025.

In 2024, he played all of England's eight games in the T20 World Cup in the West Indies and USA, finishing with ten wickets. He has been a regular in short-format leagues across the world. He had two seasons with Hobart Hurricanes in the BBL before his international breakthrough, taking 34 wickets in all as his side made it to the knockouts. After his return from injury, he plied his trade for the likes of Southern Brave in the Hundred, and in the IPL for Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals.

Jofra Archer IPL factfile