Jofra Archer Might Play For England In 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup As ECB Changes Rules

Pacer Jofra Archer might play for England in the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup. This good news comes in the wake of the England and Wales Cricket Board revising the eligibility rules, which are considered while selecting players for the national team. Previously, a player (not born in England) had to have a seven-year residency period in the country. Now, in the recent development, players with a three-year residence provision will also be considered. Going by the previous rules, Archer, who holds a British passport and was born to a British father, wouldn't have qualified to play for England until 2022 as he hadn't arrived in the United Kingdom until after his 18th birthday in 2015.

Following an ECB rule change, all-rounder Jofra Archer will be available for selection by England sometime in March 2019.

Should he be in their @CricketWorldCup squad?

READ https://t.co/fsGBXAkkjx pic.twitter.com/IgSWbfkKEq

— ICC (@ICC) November 29, 2018

Before playing in the cash-rich Indian Premier League (IPL) for Rajasthan Royals, the pacer represented the Windies at Under-19s level.

However, he has been playing county cricket for Sussex since 2015 alongside fellow Bajan-born Chris Jordan. Jofra has also represented the Hobart Hurricanes in Australia's Big Bash League.

The new ECB eligibility criteria for players, both men and women, from 1 January 2019, are:

a) British Citizenship and,

b) Either born in England/Wales, or 3 years residence (a total of 210 days/year April-March) and

c) Not played as a local player in professional international or domestic cricket in a Full Member country within the last 3 years.

For comparison, the current ICC eligibility criteria for all players, is:

a) British citizenship; or

b) Born in England/Wales; or

c) 3 years residence (on a rolling basis) and not having played for another Full Member country in the past 3 years

The previous ECB eligibility criteria for male players was:

a) British citizenship; and

b) Either born in England/Wales, or 7-year residence if moving from a Full Member County and arriving after 18th birthday, or 4 years if moving from an Associate Member County or arriving before 18th birthday (residence=210 day/year April-March); and

c) Not played as a local player in professional international or domestic cricket in a full member country within 4/7 years.

Topics mentioned in this article

England Cricket Team Jofra Archer Cricket World Cup 2019