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Jofra Archer reacts to England call up

17 Apr 2019

Following his first call-up for England, Sussex's Jofra Archer spoke to ecb.co.uk to give his reaction to the latest stage of his meteoric rise to date... 

How does it feel to receive your first call-up for England?
 
It feels really overwhelming. I didn’t expect to ever be good enough to play for England until the last couple of years after I started doing well in T20 tournaments and it’s been a whirlwind period for me. It’s really good to be acknowledged for what I’m doing, but it’s hard to put the feeling into words.
 
After all the rumours, what was it like to receive the call from Ed Smith?
 
I honestly thought I would have to wait a couple more years before I would be in contention for the full squad, I thought I would have to play for the Lions or something like that.
 
So when he called I was honestly surprised and it was overwhelming for me.
 
I had heard all the rumours and chatter but I was playing cricket and didn’t give myself too much time to think about it.
 
Cricket kept me distracted which was a good thing, because I didn’t’ really want to speak about it or get caught up in all the stuff around it.
 
What has it been like for you since the eligibility rules changed?
 
It’s been an exciting three months but I’m surprised by how fast everything has happened.
 
I was fully prepared in my mind that it was going to be a seven-year job. When I found out I was qualified more quickly it was obviously a bit of a shock but also exciting.
 
But the goal has never changed, which has always been to become the best cricketer I can and hopefully play for England whenever I was eligible.
 
It’s always been about playing for England for me and I always made that very clear. I was prepared to wait but thankfully the chance has come sooner.
 
How excited are you for the Pakistan series?
 
I’m going to give it my best shot. I’ve worked pretty much all my life for this moment and I just want to tackle it and put my best foot forward.
 
It should be a good series. Hopefully I get a chance to play and do myself justice.
 
I’m not in the World Cup squad but it’s a great chance for me to show what I can do and anything can happen. If someone gets injured, I want to put myself in a position where I’m the first person they turn to.
 
How do you feel about your World Cup chances? Would that be the dream?
 
It’s not all about the World Cup for me right now, it’s about playing against Pakistan which is what I’ve been selected for.
 
It will still be the highlight of my career to play for England in the series against Pakistan.
 
Of course I want to play in the World Cup, but if it doesn’t happen for me I’m not going to get upset. I’m just so excited to play against Pakistan and this is a position I didn’t imagine I would be in at this stage.
 
Is it even more exciting to join a team ranked No.1 in the world?
 
Yes exactly. This is a great England team that has been playing very well for a number of years leading into the World Cup.
 
I understand the situation and I’m very happy with everything. I don’t want to step on anyone’s toes, the squad selected for the World Cup deserve it and my job is to do my very best against Pakistan.
 
It’s already above and beyond my expectations and I’m just looking forward to meeting the team and playing cricket for England.
 
Will it help having played with Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes in the IPL?
 
We didn’t speak about England that much. That might change now I’ve been called up! We’ve mainly been trying our best for Rajasthan Royals and get some points on the board which the team need. They are obviously great players and people and I’m looking forward to the opportunity to share a pitch with them for England. It will be relaxing to have some familiar faces around.
 
And it’s another bonus that Chris Jordan has also been called up…
 
He’s been a part of every major cricketing feat I’ve had. My debut at Sussex, my first franchise tournament in Bangladesh, he was there in the Big Bash…he’s always been there every time I’ve done something in cricket.
 
It would be a hugely proud moment to play with CJ for England, it’s definitely something we have talked about. We’ve done so much together, we’ve supported each other every step of the way and he deserves his call-up for the Pakistan series.

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