Jofra Archer is ‘a complete cricketer’, says England team-mate Chris Jordan

Chris Jordan has hailed England team-mate Jofra Archer as “a complete cricketer” after witnessing his impressive performances – with both bat and ball – at this year’s IPL.

Archer finished as Rajasthan Royals’ leading wicket-taker by some distance, with 20 to his name, along with a better average than any other seamer in the tournament bar Jasprit Bumrah and Jason Holder.

As a batsman, the 25-year-old also registered a healthy strike rate of almost 180, well above those of his Rajasthan team-mates after some powerful hitting down the order.

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Jordan, who featured for rival franchise Kings XI Punjab, told the IPL Cricket Show: “In this tournament his mojo was really back and I’m so pleased to see him doing so well.

“I’ve seen Jofra smiling a lot more, being a lot more free with his mind and that’s when he plays his best cricket. The most pleasing thing for me was actually how he started with the bat.

“What he does with his bowling is well documented, but he hasn’t quite been able to show a lot of what he can do with the bat. I believe personally that he’s a complete cricketer.

“What you saw with the bat is just a glimpse, but his power, some of the ramps that he’s playing and the skill he displayed was unbelievable.”

Jordan believes his fellow paceman is a strong candidate to be named MVP for the tournament, not least because Archer performed in one of the weaker sides, with the Royals finishing last in the table.

“Up front, every single time (Rajasthan captain) Steve Smith threw the ball to him, he was taking wickets,” added Jordan.

“When you looked at the scoreboard he’d bowled two overs for five, three or two and really shut down the powerplay at the beginning of the game for Rajasthan.

“He might not be too far off getting MVP for the tournament, so I think that says it all. In terms of the amount of balls he bowled over 140-150kph, he’s comfortably the quickest.

“You just have to ask anybody around the circuit, even the top batters – facing him is a little bit of a nightmare, especially when he starts to bowl those fuller bouncers.”

Like Archer, Jordan has been included in England’s squad for their upcoming T20I series in South Africa, which begins on November 27, but not the three 50-over matches that follow.

Having undergone an operation to repair a bicep injury in July, the 32-year-old explained: “I only had about six weeks to come back in the summer and play in that series against Pakistan.

“At the moment the medical team, in conjunction with myself, probably feel it’s a bit too soon to start pushing 10 overs at top pace.

“We’ll give it maybe another six weeks and at the turn of the year there’s another selection and hopefully I can get the nod. It’s something I want to strive for, to keep playing for England in every single format.”

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