Jofra Archer’s star ascension leaves Hobart Hurricanes on the hunt for a new cricket import
A Hurricanes favourite almost certainly won’t be in purple for some or all of the next Big Bash League.
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THE Hurricanes are on the hunt for another import following Jofra Archer’s stellar success at the World Cup.
After three games, Archer is England’s leading wicket-taker and equal third overall for the tournament.
With England touring South Africa during the upcoming summer, Archer is sure to miss the back half of the Big Bash League with English white ball duties, and will miss all of it if, as Cricket Tasmania suspects, he is picked for all three formats starting with the upcoming Ashes series in England.
CT chief executive Nick Cummins said the Hurricanes cannot sign a replacement for Archer for either part or all of the BBL until he was ruled out by the English Cricket Board, most likely towards the back end of the World Cup.
“We are probably about a month and a half off getting formal notice from the ECB about Jofra’s availability and then having enough intelligence of what’s going on in the cricket community to know who is an appropriate replacement,” Cummins said.
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In 28 first-class games for Sussex, Archer has taken 131 wickets at 23.4 and averages 31 for the bat to show he can be just as lethal with the red ball as with the white.
But Archer, 24, made his name internationally as a Hurricane and has been a star of the Big Bash, propelling himself onto the world stage with his sheer pace and accuracy backed up by his athleticism in the field.
Cummins said with the development of local quick Riley Meredith and the return of James Faulkner last summer, the second import behind Afghani leg-spinner Qais Ahmad may not be a fast bowler.
“We are always looking for match winners,” he said.
“If we can find another Jofra Archer then we would definitely sign him but we are not just going to sign another fast bowler if we don’t believe that fast bowler is better than our existing bowlers.
“We’ve got quite a good battery of pace bowlers so we would keep an open mind as to who that player would be and we’ll have a look at what sort of quality is available and I think sign the player we think will have the biggest impact on the squad.”
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With all countries playing international white ball cricket during the BBL season, Archer’s replacement may come from the retirees after this World Cup or another relatively unknown player who stars in the upcoming English domestic league, the T20 Blast.
The BBL fixture is expected to be released next month with the Hurricanes asking for a Christmas Eve fixture for the second year running.
CT is also waiting to hear whether its high performance manager Drew Ginn has landed a similar position with Cricket Australia.
brett.stubbs@news.com.au
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