Ben Stokes insists now is the time for England’s players to throw their support behind Jofra Archer as the fast bowler spends five days in isolation at Old Trafford’s on-site hotel following his unsanctioned trip to Hove.
Archer is waiting to discover whether his breach of the team’s Covid-19 protocols during Monday’s journey from Southampton to Manchester will result in a further sanction beyond being dropped for the second Test against West Indies.
His fate is in the hands of team director, Ashley Giles, who is expected to complete an internal disciplinary process before the end of the match after previously stating that the detour could have cost the sport “tens of millions of pounds”.
Stokes, vice-captain and very much the heartbeat of the set-up, stressed Archer’s team-mates are making sure he does not feel alone at present despite the 25-year-old facing a further three days staring at the four walls of his hotel room.
“We really need to be there to support Jofra right now,” said Stokes, speaking after stumps on the second day and fresh from making 176 from 356 balls – his 10th Test century and his highest score on home soil.
“He’s a big talking point right now but obviously he is by himself because of everything that’s going on at the moment. The worst thing we could do is leave him and say ‘see you in five days time’.
“Times like this are very tough and you can feel like you’re by yourself. I don’t think anyone will allow that to happen. Jofra is a massive part of this group, as everyone is. If it was anyone, it would have been the same way of handling it.
“It’s all good talk of being there for people when things are going well and smoothly but what really comes through is how you operate when someone needs you the most.”
Stokes enjoyed similar support from his colleagues after the Bristol incident in 2017 and, having redoubled his own efforts since, has now blossomed into a batsman for all situations. At 29 the all-rounder is seemingly entering his prime years too.
He said: “I feel good with the bat in hand. I didn’t during the first two weeks of the build-up period; it felt like a stick of rhubarb and I couldn’t hit the ball. But getting into a competitive environment brings out another side to most professionals.
“I’m happy where things are at and understanding my gameplan, understanding where they will bowl to me, which [today] was to hang it wide and test my patience. So it was really making sure mentally I was strong enough.
“I was more buzzing that I faced over 300 balls than when I got my hundred – that’s something I never thought I’d do.”
Asked whether he can get better, Stokes replied: “The numbers and figures, I don’t really care about – the main number is how many wins.”