Jofra Archer takes wicket three balls into comeback after almost 18 months out, as Kevin Pietersen describes him as a ‘star of the game’ in SA20

Almost like he never went away, Jofra Archer came back with a bang as he took a wicket just three balls into his return to competitive cricket.

The England fast bowler has been out of action for almost 18 months and has not played for his country since March 2021 due to an elbow injury that required two operations, which was then followed by a stress fracture of his back.

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In November, however, Archer looked back to full fitness, as he bowled nine overs in a warm-up match ahead of England's recent tour of Pakistan.

And then on Tuesday, Archer made his return to competitive cricket in the newly established South African T20 league [SA20] for the team, MI Cape Town.

In his first over for the team and on just his third ball, Archer sent down a peach of a delivery that was skied by batsman Wihan Lubbe of the Paarl Royals, and it was easily caught for the first wicket of the game.

Seeing Archer back in form is excellent news for English cricket fans, as we enter a crucial year that features a 50-over World Cup as well as an Ashes Series.

One man who is particularly excited by Archer's return is England cricket legend, Kevin Pietersen, prior to MI Cape Town's game on Tuesday: "The biggest story is the return of Jofra Archer after nearly two years out with injury.

"I don’t think I was alone in wondering whether he had a future at the top of the game after so many injury blows, but I desperately hope that this is the start of the second phase of his career.

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"He’s a star of the game, he proved that with his incredible first year in international cricket in 2019.

"He’s also one of the nicest guys you’ll meet – except when he has the ball in hand, because you don’t want to be on the receiving end of one of his rockets. Hopefully he lights up this tournament."

As for this particular tournament, Archer will only be playing a limited role, as Managing Director of England Men's Cricket, Rob Key, explained back in November: "Our plan for him is he will play two games in the South African franchise, which will be his first competitive cricket.

"If he gets through that, we will pick him for the South Africa ODI series, so he will go from four overs to 10 overs."