England rule change could see Archer playing at World Cup

Saturday, 1 December 2018 00:18 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

LONDON (Reuters): Barbados-born all-rounder Jofra Archer will be eligible to play for England at next year’s Cricket World Cup following a rule change announced on Thursday.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said overseas players would, from Jan. 1, become eligible to play for England after living in the country for three years rather than a previous seven.

Archer would not have been able to play for England until 2022 under the existing rules.

The 23-year-old Sussex player, who has a British father and passport, featured for West Indies at under-19 level and arrived in Britain in 2015.

The Rajasthan Royals paid 72 million Indian rupees ($1.03 million) for him after a fierce bidding war in last January’s Indian Premier League Twenty20 auction.

Archer could also be available for England’s Caribbean tour that runs from January to March, and includes matches in Barbados, although other T20 contractual obligations may make that difficult.

“It may or may not happen but I would love to debut in front of my family,” he said on Twitter on Thursday.

The ECB said the change brought the body closer to the International Cricket Council (ICC) rules. ($1 = 69.8000 Indian rupees)