JOFRA'S FUTURE IN THE BALANCE

England paceman injured again and it leaves his Ashes hopes looking doomed

- DEAN WILSON 

JUST four years on from spearheading England's victorious World Cup campaign, pace ace Jofra Archer's international future is in the balance.

It is not just because he has returned home early from this season's IPL after playing only five matches with a bout of surgery sandwiched in the middle.

Nor is it because there is any doubt about the quality the 28-year-old still possesses when his body allows him to crank up his speed and make life difficult for the best batters in the world.

It is simply because the right elbow upon which his entire career as a premier fast bowler relies, cannot be counted upon to look after him the way he has tried to look after it.

This is not Archer's fault, nor is it the fault of the countless medics and physios and support staff who have given him the best of their knowledge to get him back playing.