Roland Butcher calls Archer an idiot

Jul 20, 2020 Sports

– Says he would drop him for 3rd Test

Sixty-six-year old Barbadian Roland Butcher, who made history when he became the first black man to play Test cricket for England, was very critical of fellow Barbadian 25-year-old pacer Jofra Archer, the last black man to play Test cricket for England.
Butcher’s comments on e-mail was shared to the media.
Archer, who has 33 wickets including three five-wicket hauls from eight Test since making his debut against Australia on August 14, 2019, was fined and given a written warning by the England and Wales Cricket Board for breaching bio-secure protocols.

Jofa Archer (RA Media)

The Bajan visited his home in Hove on Monday during his journey from Southampton, where the first Test against West Indies was played, to Manchester, the venue for the second.
While all of the English players reportedly have GPS tracking devices, they were allowed to drive their own cars from the venue of the first Test to Manchester where the second Test commenced last Thursday at Old Trafford.
Archer was dropped from the squad on the morning of the second Test which is scheduled to end today but re-joined the squad yesterday and is available for the third Test, which starts on Friday.
But for him to be available he has to receive two negative tests for the COVID-19 during a five-day period of isolation which began on last Thursday. Archer was fined his second Test match of 15,000 pounds.
Butcher, who made his Test debut against the West Indies in Barbados on March 13, 1981, weighed in on Archer saying that he totally disagreed with what Archer did.
“We are not dealing with little children. Everyone in the England team knew the rules and Archer is the only one to break it,” said Butcher, who scored 71 runs from his three Test with a highest score of 32 after being dismissed by Colin Croft for 17 and by Viv Richards for two in his debut Test.
“In actual fact I would say he was an idiot. All the England players have GPS tracking devices, so that they know where they are at all times,” he said of Archer who was due to be the only member of the England pace attack from the first-Test defeat, retained for the second.

Roland Butcher

“He put the rest of the tour at risk, his teammates, West Indies players, officials and everyone else connected with Old Trafford. He was not dropped for this Test, he was not available for selection because of what he did and threw team selection into a panic situation,” continued Butcher who has one fifty in his three ODIs for England.
“For me I would drop him for the 3rd Test. His actions lack discipline and was very unprofessional,” Butcher said of the Sussex speedster.
Butcher, who was appointed director of sports at the University of the West Indies’ Cave Hill Campus in November, 2004, was also harsh on Bajan Journalist and Archer’s good friend, Alexis Nunes for her defence of Archer’s actions.
“How can she try to defend what he did as nothing too serious? asked Butcher.
Archer who played at U-19 level for the West Indies made his Test debut against Australia in August last year after playing the first of his 14 ODIs against Ireland in May 2019. (Sean Devers)