Jofra Archer has put his hands up to play in the BBL - he may go unsigned

Jofra Archer is a bonafide white ball superstar and will be among the biggest names at the Big Bash League draft. But there is serious fears he will go unpicked, writes DANIEL CHERNY.

Jofra Archer will be close to if not the biggest name in next Sunday’s Big Bash League draft, yet there is no guarantee he will have a suitor.

Clubs are understood to be gun shy about spending one of their respective two remaining men’s overseas picks on the injury prone England paceman amid doubts over whether the ECB will clear him to play for more than a handful of BBL games next summer.

Archer, 29, played just seven times for England in more than three years before returning ahead of this year’s Twenty20 World Cup.

The Barbados-born speedster has not played a Test since February 2021, with the ECB delicately managing his comeback to international cricket this year.

He was not made available for Test selection in 2024, but after a strong white-ball campaign, England management is hopeful he can get back to play in the home series against India next year, followed by the Ashes Down Under.

Jofra Archer has been plagued by injury the past few years. Picture: Stu Forster/Getty Images

England has a Test series in New Zealand that overlaps with the start of the BBL season, likely delaying the arrival of Ollie Pope to the Adelaide Strikers, but England’s white-ball calendar is clear until deep into January when a series in India begins.

In theory Archer could be available for much of the BBL season but sources said there was considerable doubt over whether England would give him the green light for an extended stretch in Australia given his extensive injury history.

While there is discretion from the league’s technical committee, generally speaking a player needs to nominate for the draft to be available to be picked up as a replacement player. It is possible clubs will monitor Archer’s potential availability before snapping him up late on the eve of or even during the BBL season.

Archer’s nomination is yet to be confidermed publicly by Cricket Australia, however it’s understood his name was on the list of just under 600 players across men’s and women’s pools submitted before this month’s deadline.

Jofra Archer played two seasons for the Hobart Hurricanes. Picture: Rob Blakers/AAP Image

The quick played 27 matches for the Hobart Hurricanes across two seasons, last appearing in the BBL in early 2019, months before his devastating entrance into international cricket in which he helped England to a maiden World Cup victory then shook Australia during that year’s gripping drawn Ashes series.

The Hurricanes have already publicly ruled out a draft move for Archer.

“If you look at our bowlers in our team that offer (what Archer does), we’ve got Riley (Meredith), Nathan (Ellis) and now Chris (Jordan), it doesn’t quite fit from a matchup point of view,“ Hurricanes high performance general manager Salliann Beams said in June.

“What we’re looking for is that allrounder and then someone that can fit in the top four.

“Not saying that (Archer is) not a quality player, he is absolutely, and if we needed that skill set, I think he would be a big target, but he just doesn’t fit the balance of our team.”

Among the other eyebrow-raising names yet to be released by CA is South African paceman Lungi Ngidi.

An international regular, the quick is likely to have commitments with the Proteas and then in his home SA20 competition that preclude him from playing a meaningful role in the BBL season, yet should he miss selection against Pakistan later in the year he could too prove tempting late to a BBL side.

Originally published as Jofra Archer has put his hands up to play in the BBL - he may go unsigned