Updated July 17th, 2020 at 11:06 IST

Jofra Archer very 'naive, silly' for breach of protocol: Nasser Hussain, Michael Atherton

Jofra Archer: Nasser Hussain and Michael Atherton slammed the lanky speedster for violating the bio-security protocols of the national cricket team.

Reported by: Jatin Malu
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Former England cricket captains Nasser Hussain and Michael Atherton have slammed England speedster Jofra Archer for violating the bio-security protocols of the national cricket team. As a result, Jofra Archer dropped his place from the 2nd Test against West Indies at Old Trafford, Manchester. Jofra Archer was named in the 13-man squad for the second Test of the three-match Test series against West Indies. James Anderson and Mark Wood have been rested for the same and Jofra Archer was supposed to lead England's pace attack.

ALSO READ | England vs West Indies: ‘No Sympathy': Michael Holding slams Jofra Archer for violating the bio-secure protocols

Jofra Archer dropped: Nasser Hussain and Michael Atherton lash out at the lanky pacer for 'naive and silly' actions

While talking to Sky Sports, Nasser Hussain criticized Jofra Archer calling his actions 'naive and silly'. Nasser Hussain added that it was silly on Jofra Archer's part because a lot of the effort has gone in to make this series possible. He further said that this is a serious illness and you cannot risk infecting anyone.

Nasser Hussain reckoned that they don’t know if it was just a naivety from Jofra Archer or if it was something more serious. However, he said that Jofra Archer has made a mistake and has apologized for it. Hussain opined that it is a very unusual situation in cricket right now. Hussain also said England captain Joe Root will be discouraged with Archer’s actions saying that his team-mates, as well as his captain, will be disappointed.

Michael Atherton was also in no mood to spare Jofra Archer as well as he bashed the speedster by calling him 'foolish'. While speaking to Sky Sports, Atherton said that Archer's actions cost him a place in the team and threw England’s plans to win a vital Test match that they must win to try and win this series into disarray. Thirdly, it’s put at risk all the work that ECB has done, echoing Hussain's views.

ALSO READ | England vs West Indies: 'The most unique': Harsha Bhogle defines Jofra Archer's act of breaching the protocol

The cricketer-turned-commentator pointed out that for these six Test matches, three against West Indies and three against Pakistan, the ECB have had to do a tremendous amount of work to get these games on. Atherton further spoke on why players cannot afford to break these protocols. He said that although the protocols might seem very severe, they’ve had to put those in place to get government approval for these games to happen.

Atherton added that from broadcast purposes, each of these games is worth about 20 million pounds to the ECB, the international summer as a whole is about 180 million pounds and that is huge money for the game. So, they can’t afford the players to break protocols.

ALSO READ | England vs West Indies: Aakash Chopra lashes out at Jofra Archer for 'breaching bio-secure protocols'

An ECB spokesperson said that Archer breached the protocols while travelling from the Rose Bowl to the Old Trafford. It’s learned that he stopped off en route his home in Brighton and it came to light only after the squad was announced. Jofra Archer later apologised for his mistake and accepted the consequences of his actions. Archer has also been criticised by the likes of Michael Holding and Michael Vaughan, who have no sympathy for the lanky pacer. The duo are also covering the series for rival broadcasters in Manchester.

Eng vs WI live streaming: ENG vs WI live in India and Eng vs WI live streaming details  

The Eng vs WI live streaming in India will be available to viewers on the Sony LIV. But fans can also enjoy the ENG vs WI live scores by logging onto FanCode by Dream Sports to watch each ball of the ENG vs WI match. The Eng vs WI live streaming in India would also be available on Airtel TV. The Eng vs WI live streaming will begin at 3:30 PM IST. For ENG vs WI live scores of Eng vs WI match fans can check the official England Cricket Twitter page as well.

ALSO READ | England vs West Indies: Michael Holding gets tearful in interview on Day 2 over personal racism story

IMAGE COURTESY: AP & MICHAEL ATHERTON TWITTER

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Published July 17th, 2020 at 11:06 IST