I want to play Test cricket but I don't know when I will

Jofra Archer believes his white-ball summer has been the ideal stepping stone to his ultimate goal of returning to Test cricket, but is not setting any targets on when that dream will become a reality.

There were echoes of Archer's unforgettable summer of 2019 when he put in a stunning performance to help England brush aside world champions Australia at Lords on Friday evening. Archer took the wickets of captain Mitchell Marsh and Glenn Maxwell as Australia lost all 10 wickets from 58 to lose by 186 runs in a rain-shortened match and take the series to a decider in Bristol.

The performance, which saw Archer regularly clock 90mph, was another important tick as it was the first time he had played consecutive one-day internationals since September 2020, after enduring years of horrific elbow and back stress fractures.

He has now put together a consistent summer of white-ball cricket, starting in May in England, through the T20 World Cup, Hundred and now the T20 and ODI series against Australia. Initially Archer was not scheduled to play the fourth game of the ODI series, but a look at the poor forecast in Bristol and the fact that I don't think anyone wants to miss Lords made him give the medical staff a small gave a push. . It paid off as it is unclear whether he will play in Bristol, or whether a decider is even possible.

When asked if he felt his summer had gone as well as it could have, Archer said: Yes, I would say so. I'm still in the park and nearing the end of summer. So for me that's a consideration. I wanted to play for a summer, and then I want to play for a year, and then I want to play for a few years. So everything is going according to plan.

I've been back into this rhythm for a while, I felt it during the World Cup and I just took it series by series.

The [Lords] There was a lot to the game, and it was probably just the intensity of the match that was coming.

I'm just happy playing the crickets that are out there right now

Archer confirmed his aim was to still play Test cricket after not appearing in the format since early 2021 due to injury. England hope to have him available for next year's blockbuster series against India at home and Australia away, but are cherishing him there. Archer said his schedule would be entirely determined by Rob Key, the England director, and Craig de Weymarn, the physio, and he did not know when he would next have a red ball in his hand.

“I'm just taking it series by series,” Archer said. To be honest, I'm just happy playing whatever crickets are there at the time. I'm not looking that far ahead because none of us have plans for next year. So let's just go series by series.

I've been playing cricket all summer, so I can't really see Lords as the end goal. I think the World Cup was a good tick. This was a good check mark. The Caribbean will be another good tick. Hopefully I'll play more games there. For now, I'm happy to be playing. Sorry to repeat myself, but I don't have anything else to say about it. I know I've been away, it's been a while, but I'm playing cricket again and I'm just happy.

Archer particularly enjoyed bowling alongside Brydon Carse, one of the faster bowlers to emerge in recent years. At 29, Archer is now a senior player and one of only two survivors in the Lords XI of the 2019 World Cup-winning team.

When you look at someone and you're in good form, or wherever you are, and you see the other guy giving the batsman hell, he said. So it's really fun. And I think tonight it really worked. The conditions were really nice for fast bowling. It seamed, it squeezed. It did a little bit of everything. So it is really a good game to be a fast bowler.

Yes and no [feel responsibility of a senior player]. It's strange to see the team change. Recently I played warm-up football with the young team and a few weeks later I was with the old team. It was a bit of a shock, but everyone is looking forward to it.