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Jofra Archer will miss the start of England’s one-day series against New Zealand as part of a planned build-up to next month’s Ashes.
Sussex fast bowler Archer is due to arrive in Mount Maunganui alongside Test squad bowlers Mark Wood and Josh Tongue this Saturday.
The first one-day international is played the next day in a town where the 30-year-old was racially abused by a spectator in his first international appearance overseas in 2019.
He has been pencilled in for a return to action in next Wednesday’s second of three one-day internationals in Hamilton, but that will depend on how he acclimatises following the long-distance flight from the UK.
Ideally, England would like Archer to make one appearance in the ODI series that concludes in Wellington a week on Saturday, to build on his strong finish to a 2025 home season in which he bowled with pace and hostility, taking nine wickets in two Tests against India and claiming a man-of-the-match award in a crushing win versus South Africa.
England’s bank of fast bowlers are all on bespoke training schedules for the Ashes: Gus Atkinson chose to join this white-ball tour of New Zealand before linking up with England Lions ahead of joining the Test squad in Perth on November 9, Wood and Tongue opted for lead-ins of seven days fewer while Matthew Potts goes directly to Australia with the Lions.
Jofra Archer will play no part in England's ODI series against New Zealand
England officials want to keep the injury-prone bowler fit for this winter's Ashes series
Like Ben Stokes, who will visit family here in New Zealand next week before heading across the Tasman Sea to take on Australia in a series that could define his England legacy, Wood has been bowling in a heated marquee at Loughborough in recent weeks.
This winter’s Test specialist bowlers will train in the nets here during an ODI campaign here for which Joe Root, Ben Duckett and Jamie Smith arrived on Wednesday.
Before that, England will attempt to claim an eighth Twenty20 win in nine completed matches since Harry Brook succeeded Jos Buttler as captain.
They head into Thursday’s clash at Eden Park with a 1-0 lead courtesy of the 65-run thrashing of the Black Caps in Christchurch earlier this week.
Phil Salt wins his 50th T20 cap while one of his predecessors as an opening batsman Tom Banton settles into a new role during his third iteration as an international player.
Banton, 26, made his first steps with England here six years ago, but has re-emerged under Brook’s leadership in a middle-order role, blasting an unbeaten 29 from just 12 deliveries on Monday.
‘I have a better understanding of my game and what's required from the team. At that young age, it was very exciting, very new, everything just happened so quickly,’ Banton said.
‘The few years after I got dropped from England was a tough time for me, working myself out, but I've got a different role in the team now and I'm really enjoying that. There's going to be times where it comes off and it looks great and I'm sure there's going to be other times where it doesn’t.’
