Jofra Archer injury sparks fears over his Ashes fitness after he misses a second successive IPL game

Fears began to grow over Jofra Archer’s fitness on Tuesday when Ben Stokes was revealed to be speaking about the importance of ’90 miles per hour plus’ fast bowling in the Ashes.

Archer missed his second consecutive game for Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League on Tuesday after reporting pain in his elbow that required two surgeries.

And while England downplays the scale of the problem, saying their prize-winning fast bowling signing is missing as a ‘precautionary measure’, there should be concerns about Archer’s fitness for red-ball cricket ahead of an Ashes series against Australia that starts on June 16. .

That will be of great concern to England captain Stokes, who, speaking to India’s Sky Sports before Archer reported his problem, seemed to confirm that the fast bowler who has been dogged by injuries for the past two years is still his first choice , Ashes. queue up.

“I think I know what Ashes’ starting line-up will be, there or thereabouts,” said Stokes, who plays for Chennai in the IPL despite his own chronic knee injury.

“Having the ability to bowl over 90 miles per hour is what every captain wants. But when it comes to that first test, I’ll make sure I pick the best team for that first game.”

With the importance of fast bowling in the form of Archer and others such as Mark Wood and Olly Stone in mind, the England captain revealed that he has ordered ‘flat, fast’ pitches for the mouth-watering Ashes series which will begin in Edgbaston and will be performed at Lord’s, Headingley, Old Trafford and the Oval.

“We’ve been clear with the ground staff what kind of wickets we want and they’ve responded,” said Stokes. “We want flat, fast wickets. We want to score quickly. If that brings the guys from Australia in, they’ll be happy. “I’m smiling because I feel like it.”

And Stokes insisted there will be no turning back from the ultra-positive brand of cricket that has brought England 10 wins from 12 matches under his leadership and will continue to risk losing to try and win the Ashes in an entertaining fashion.

“I’m not going to change anything just because we’re in the Ashes,” Stokes added. “Every match will be to produce a result. Otherwise I wouldn’t be true to myself and to everything I’ve done in the past year.’