"Firstly, is [Archer] good enough to be in the team? And secondly, will that upset the apple cart and affect the way we play?"
Sunday 3 March 2019 18:47, UK
Trevor Bayliss says Jofra Archer could feature in England's ODIs against Pakistan as he bids to gate-crash the team's World Cup squad.
England must name their provisional 15 by late April but are permitted to make changes before their World Cup campaign begins against South Africa at The Oval on May 30, live on Sky Sports Cricket.
Archer could get the chance to stake his claim in the series against Sarfraz Ahmed's team in May and the one-off game against Ireland that precedes it - although Bayliss admits the 22-year-old's inclusion over an established player at the World Cup risks "upsetting the apple cart."
The all-rounder, who was born in Barbados, will be England-qualified by the start of the home season, with the ECB's residency regulations having recently been cut from seven to three years.
"Those matches against Pakistan and Ireland, I think he will get an opportunity to show us what he can do," said Bayliss.
"There was a little bit of contact made during the Australian summer, when there was talk about the date that he qualified, or how many days he needed to be back in the UK. He's said publicly that he's keen.
"There was certainly a discussion between selectors, coach and captain and that's been ongoing for a little while. Now we've got the opportunity to have a look at someone like that, why not take it?
"We've got to have the squad in by April 23, but there's a month after that to change it," Bayliss told Sky Sports Cricket on Saturday night after England's seven-wicket defeat to Windies in the fifth and final ODI.
"We'd like it to be as close as it can be [to the final 15 in the Pakistan series] but we could try someone like Jofra in those matches and make a decision one way or another. The absolute final date [for the squad] is May 22.
"He's a bowler you don't get many of - someone who is able to bowl in all three phases of the game. He can take the new ball, bowl through the middle and bowl at the end, which is a good skill-set to have.
"There is plenty of speculation [about Archer] all the time in the papers and I'm sure [England's other seamers] read that.
"If we do leave someone out of that initial squad I'm sure that will be explained pretty well to them. It is something we've got to think about and that will be one of the decisions we have to make.
"Firstly, is [Archer] good enough to be in the team? And secondly, will that upset the apple cart to a degree that it affects the way we play?"
Mark Wood said last week that he was one of the seamers "under threat" from Archer, but impressed throughout the 2-2 draw in the West Indies.
The Durham quick took seven wickets in four games, including 4-60 in a run-infested fourth ODI in Grenada, to follow on from his maiden Test five-for, in St Lucia, in early February.
"It's great that he's free of injury," Bayliss added of Wood. "We are seeing some of the best of him and what's he's capable of. It's exciting for Mark and English cricket, but we've got to make sure we look after him."
England's batting malfunctioned in the final game against Windies, with Bayliss' side skittled for 113 on a bouncy surface as their winning streak in bilateral ODI series was snapped at nine.
On the batting collapse, the Australian added: "We didn't adapt at all. We found during the Test series that the bouncier wickets were our Achilles heel, it's certainly not a strength of ours.
"It's the good and the bad - and the gulf between our good times and our bad matches was huge.
"But in a couple of games [in this series] we've come out on top and played well under pressure, so a bit more of that is what we need."
Watch the first Twenty20 international between Windies and England, also in St Lucia, live on Sky Sports Cricket from 7.30pm on Tuesday.
