Jofra Archer’s return to first-class cricket went well, with the speedster bowling 14 overs for Sussex against Durham in a County Championship match at Chester-le-Street. Archer, who was playing in his first first-class encounter since May 2021, looked clinical, taking a wicket and showing promising signs of returning to Test cricket.

The Barbados native’s last Test appearance occurred in February 2021. Since then, he has had elbow surgery and suffered a stress fracture in his back, ruling him out of the majority of games, including the Ashes tours and the 2023 ODI World Cup. Despite his few performances in white-ball formats, Archer is aiming a return to the lengthier format, and his performance against Durham is being eagerly watched for a possible recall for the second Test against India at Edgbaston on July 2.

Jofra with the breakthrough! ⚡️ https://t.co/jcdpDAxU8y pic.twitter.com/WwBvCO1VH8

— Sussex Cricket (@SussexCCC) June 23, 2025

THERE IT ISSS!!! 🤩 pic.twitter.com/ydaDtRMmdG

— Sussex Cricket (@SussexCCC) June 23, 2025

I know my body can hold up to it: jofra Archer

On Day 2 of the match, Archer bowled 14 overs across three spells and finished with figures of 1 for 28. He dismissed Durham opener Emilio Gay, making it his first wicket in red-ball cricket since May 2021. Notably, he didn’t take the new ball; he came on first change after Ollie Robinson.

Archer’s most impressive spell came after Lunch, where he troubled Gay with a series of short-pitched deliveries and continued with another brilliant spell after Tea. He managed to bowl six maidens in his 14 overs and looked comfortable throughout the day. Speaking to the media at the end of the day, Archer was optimistic about his return.

“Now I know my body can hold up to it, the mental part of the game [is a greater issue]. Over the next couple of days, I’m going to have a battle with it. It’s all good. I’ll keep trucking along. When the scoreboard got to 50 overs I was like, ‘It’s time to come off now’ but we got to the end of day and it wasn’t that bad. It was OK. The pitch didn’t do much. When the ball is moving around it feels a bit more exciting. I just want to get through the game. I’m glad I’ve finished a day of four-day cricket,” he told BBC Radio Sussex.