England’s cricket management was caught off guard when they discovered that injured fast bowler Jofra Archer had unexpectedly played for his old school team in Barbados.

The Barbados-born cricketer, who is currently in the Caribbean island for recuperation from an elbow injury, is understood to have quietly rejoined his UK team on Sunday evening. Interestingly, a few hours before his flight, he had played for Foundation against Lords in the first division of the Barbados Cricket Association (BCA) league.

According to the official Barbados Cricket website, the fast bowler was the best performer of the match. Lords team was dismissed for 114 runs at Church Hill, with Archer impressively nabbing 4-18 for Foundation. He showcased his bowling skills with a mix of pace and left-arm spin.

Archer’s decision to play for his old school was even more surprising given that he had recently taken part in a series of bowling drills as part of his recovery program from a recurring right elbow injury. The impromptu participation in an intense local game was not something the England team management was expecting.

Rob Key, the director of men’s cricket in England, was taken aback upon learning about Archer’s stint in the second tier of Barbados’ cricket structure. The absence of any prior intimation from Archer about his decision to play for Foundation brought the issue of player management to the forefront.

When asked about Archer playing in the match, Key said, “I’m not aware of that, I’ll find out.”

He added that the management is taking it slow with Archer and his recover from injury and are focused on prolonging his career.

“We’re just going to take it slow with him, we don’t want to put any sort of deadlines on him. That’s what we’ve done in the past, and we’re trying to learn from that. If it takes an extra couple of months, but he gets another couple of years out of his career and gets back fully. He’s worth his weight in gold,” Key added.

Archer was also released by Mumbai Indians ahead of the retention deadline, and did not put his name in the auction for IPL 2024.