Mark Wood has compared England’s impending selection of Jofra Archer on the eve of the World Cup to the signing of Faustino Asprilla by Newcastle in their foiled nineties title bid.
On Wednesday, the recently-qualified Sussex fast bowler will be named in a bloated squad to face Ireland and Pakistan next month - six matches that will form the build-up to a tournament on home soil that Eoin Morgan’s team head into as favourites.
Archer’s inclusion has been the talk of county dressing rooms at the start of the 2019 season, not least because accommodating such a special talent could potentially damage the equilibrium created over a four-year cycle of success that has seen England dominate the one-day international scene.
Mark Wood has concerns over England’s possible selection of Jofra Archer
In the north-east, the comparisons with events of February 1996 when Newcastle, nine points clear at the top of the Premier League, decided to add some star dust in the form of a new Colombian striker. Over the next three months, they were overhauled by Manchester United.
‘It’s a tough question. Do you change a winning team that has been No 1 for four years? He is obviously a world-class player. I was speaking about this a little bit with the lads at Durham because they were asking me,’ Wood said.
‘And it was the old, Kevin Keegan thing, bringing in Tino Asprilla because you want to keep the team at the top, you still want them to keep moving forward.
Wood believes Archer's inclusion could 'change the dynamic' of the team
‘But then does that change the dynamic? Does it mix it up? All of a sudden, you lose the momentum and drop down. There is no doubt that Jofra is a world-class player. He plays in the hardest tournaments, the IPL and the Big Bash, and excels. He handles the pressure.
‘But would I want to see someone like a Liam Plunkett who has been our best bowler for three years left out? No. Would I want to see myself left out? Obviously not. Would I want to see David Willey, who I am close friends with and someone who gives you a left-arm option, left out? No.
