Jos Buttler expresses his excitement to see Jofra Archer back on the field

Jofra Archer, Jos Buttler (Source: Twitter)

Jofra Archer will return to the cricket pitch for the first time in 18 months representing MI Cape Town in the South Africa T20 Cricket League. The England pacer had missed out on cricketing action since March 2021 due to elbow problems and a stress fracture.

England limited-overs captain Jos Buttler expressed his excitement on Archer’s comeback in the inaugural edition of SA20. Archer’s Capetown will go head-t-head against Buttler’s Paar on Tuesday, in Cape Town. Ahead of the game, Buttler revealed that 'selfishly' he was looking forward to Archer's return due to his England captaincy.

"You know, selfishly, I’m excited to see Jofra Archer back on the pitch. Jofra has been out for a long time due to some injuries and selfishly, as an England white-ball captain, I’m excited to see him back and available, and playing cricket", said Buttler, through Paarl Royals' Twitter handle.

"So I think that is a treat for everyone around the world. The x-factor player is back on the field. So, we'll have to be at our best to combat him because he's a superstar. I think it is a great moment that he is back playing cricket competitively", he concluded. Archer has represented England in 13 Tests, 17 ODIs and 12 T20Is, taking 42, 30 and 14 wickets respectively.

Archer bowled the all-important super over in 2019 World Cup final

Archer made his England debut on May 3 2019, in an ODI vs Ireland. He played a crucial role in their victorious 2019 Cricket World Cup campaign, playing in all the matches. He bowled the all-important super over in the final against New Zealand and defended 15 runs as the match ended in a tie. England were announced the winner of the competition on ‘boundary count’. He was also named in the tournament's Team of the Tournament.

Archer will be hoping to put on a good show in SA20, with the tournament scheduled to be played from January 10 to February 11. Archer’s return is also good news for the Mumbai Franchise in the Indian T20 League as he missed the entire last season and will be aiming to perform for his team which finished last in the last edition.