Fury at Jofra Archer for his flouting of Covid rules and the England star faces a ban

Furious England were on Thursday night contemplating strong disciplinary action over Jofra Archer’s severe breach of the bio-secure regulations that have saved Test cricket this summer, with Ashley Giles saying ‘this could have been a disaster.’

The 24-year-old faces a fine and possibly a suspension from an ‘internal’ disciplinary inquiry after breaking the strict rules surrounding England’s Test series against West Indies by going home to his flat in Hove on Monday en route from Southampton to Manchester.

Archer spent ‘an hour or two’ with an unidentified person – ECB refused to confirm whether it was his girlfriend – after the 60-mile detour before finally reporting for duty on Wednesday night seemingly oblivious to the potential consequences of his actions. 

The breach only emerged when the fast bowler mentioned it in conversation with a member of England’s management on Wednesday after the squad for Thursday’s second Test had already been named.

The staff member immediately reported Archer to England team director Giles and chief medical officer Nick Peirce and a late night crisis meeting of management quickly decided he would be withdrawn from Thursday’s match and placed in isolation in the on-site Hilton Garden Hotel overlooking Old Trafford for five days. 

He faces two more Covid tests before he is cleared to re-join the squad – unless he is suspended first.

‘This could have been a disaster,’ said Giles, who confirmed Archer’s friend immediately undertook a Covid test demanded by the ECB that came back negative. ‘From this small act the ripple effect could have cost the game tens of millions of pounds.

‘I don’t think Jofra could have understood the potential knock on effect. We made it clear what was expected but maybe he didn’t quite understand. There will be a disciplinary process but that’s as much as I can say because it’s an employment matter.’

The England players were trusted to make the 250-mile journey from one bio-secure ‘bubble’ to another in their own cars but were expressly told to go straight to Manchester and were instructed to use designated service stations en route if they needed a break.

But Archer, who has already lost his £12,000 second Test match fee, ignored the instructions, with his England team-mates said to be ‘very frustrated’ by his actions and the ECB forced to admit the breach to the government. 

‘There will have to be a consequence,’ said Giles. ’But the balance with support is important.’

Archer had earlier expressed his regret in an ECB statement. ‘I am extremely sorry for what I have done,’ he said. 

‘I have put not only myself but the whole team and management in danger. I fully accept the consequences of my actions and I want to sincerely apologise to everyone in the bio-secure bubble.

‘It deeply pains me to be missing the Test match, especially with the series poised. I feel like I have let both teams down and again I am sorry.’

England coach Chris Silverwood echoed Giles when he said: ‘He’s made a mistake. Jofra is a young man and he’s made a poor judgment call. He knows that. The integrity of this environment is very important. I spoke to Phil Simmons (West Indies coach) this morning about this and I’m grateful for his reaction.’

But Silverwood ruled out future journeys in the covid era taking place in a team bus to avoid players going awol. ‘It’s a logistical nightmare to take a coach with people coming from all over the country,’ he added. 

‘Where do you leave your cars? Where do you get picked up from? if people follow the protocols it works perfectly well as it is.’