By Lawrence Booth for MailOnline
Published: 18:40 BST, 4 May 2019 | Updated: 18:44 BST, 4 May 2019
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Jofra Archer said he was made to feel ‘welcome’ by the England dressing-room after clearing the air with team-mates who had sounded critical of his selection ahead of the World Cup.
The Barbados-born Archer made his international debut during England’s tense four-wicket win over Ireland in Malahide on Friday, taking one for 40 from eight overs. He will get another crack during today’s one-off Twenty20 international against Pakistan in Cardiff.
But perhaps his most important hurdle was cleared when he spoke in advance to fellow bowlers David Willey, Mark Wood and Chris Woakes about comments they made after Archer was named in England’s squads for those two games plus the five-match one-day series against Pakistan, starting on Wednesday.
Jofra Archer was made to feel ‘welcome’ by England players on his debut appearance
Willey had previously questioned whether ‘someone should just walk in at the drop of a hat’, while Wood compared Archer’s late inclusion to the arrival of Colombian footballer Tino Asprilla at Newcastle in 1996, after which the club’s Premier League challenge fell away.
Woakes was quoted by the BBC as claiming it would not be fair ‘morally’ if Archer were to replace an established player in England’s 15-man World Cup squad. Changes can be made any time up to a week before the tournament begins, on May 30. Woakes later took to Twitter to suggest he had been misinterpreted.
‘It’s been very welcoming,’ said Archer. ‘I knew most of the guys before coming here, but it’s nice to come into a new team with some people you know. Sometimes the media can get things wrong and misquote
