Archer could play for Eng after rule tweak

Barbados-born allrounder Jofra Archer will be eligible to play for England at next year's Cricket World Cup following a rule change announced on Thursday.

Though not quite as soon as Archer had initially hoped. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) had said overseas players would become eligible to play for England after living in the country for three years rather than a previous seven from January 1, however a clarification from his county team, Sussex, said the shift would not come into effect until "some time in March".

Archer would not have been able to play for England until 2022 under the existing rules.

The T20 entertainer is again set to feature for Hobart Hurricanes in the KFC Big Bash League season after a superb debut campaign in the competition in 2017-18.

He finished the equal second highest wicket-taker of the tournament, claiming 16 victims from 12 matches at 23.06 apiece, with a best haul of 3-15.

Only Rashid Khan and Dwayne Bravo took more wickets than Archer, both finishing with 18.

The 23-year-old Sussex player, who has a British father and passport, featured for West Indies at under-19 level and arrived in Britain in 2015.

The Rajasthan Royals paid 72 million Indian rupees ($1.03 million) for him after a fierce bidding war in last January's Indian Premier League Twenty20 auction.

It appears Archer will now not be available for England's Caribbean tour that runs from January to March, and includes matches in Barbados, despite him tweeting: "It may or may not happen but I would love to debut in front of my family."