Former skipper Michael Vaughan said that the “modern and unique” character that is Jofra Archer must be looked after during his isolation period after he breached the bio-secure bubble ahead of second Test between England and West Indies.
Vaughan, however, also expressed doubts over whether Archer can feature any further in the West Indies series. The 25-year-old was dropped from the ongoing second Test against the West Indies after he breached the team’s bio-secure protocol, established because of the coronavirus pandemic, by going home to Brighton post the series opener.
“The fact that he was willing to go home and potentially threaten the series by bringing Covid-19 back into the bubble will mean that he is on the naughty step for a while, I am afraid,” Vaughan wrote in The Telegraph.
“Realistically, it would be hard for him to play next week. I do not think they can bring him back in for the third test.”
Very foolish: Former England captain Mike Atherton on Jofra Archer’s breach of Covid-19 protocols
However, the former skipper said the team must forgive Archer for his mistake and be supportive while he self isolates for five days in the hotel and undergoes two Covid-19 tests.
“We have also got to understand that he is a young kid and this is really the first mistake he has made. What is important is that he learns, but also that he gets a little bit of support over the next five days - he is going to be locked in his room, no-one can see him. He needs people on the phone supporting him,” Vaughan wrote.
“You do not want to leave a young player, who has made a mistake, like that, on his own to have all the thoughts and gather a lot of negativity. He is online, he will have seen a lot of the responses to what he has done.”
Vaughan, who has captained England in 51 Tests, said: “It is very difficult to say how Joe Root should do it. Personally, I would be speaking to Archer on a day-to-day basis to make sure he is all right.
“We should not throw Archer under the bus. He will be back. He probably needs more awareness of what he is doing outside the game, but I do not want him to lose a character that is very modern, very unique.”
The former batsman, who has scored 5719 runs in 82 Tests for England, believes Archer will have to earn the trust of the dressing room after his recent antics after the “selfish nature” of what he did.
He also highlighted the sacrifices made by the West Indies team to play the three-match Test series, which marked the resumption of international cricket after coronavirus hiatus.
“There is a trust that you buy into as a team when you get asked not to go home and not to see your families – you only have to look at the sacrifices the West Indies players have made to allow this series to go ahead. They came here on June 8 and have been locked in at cricket grounds and cannot go out to see anybody,” he added.
(With PTI inputs)