T20 World Cup: Jofra Archer backed to rediscover form after struggling in first two World Cup matches
Jamie Overton offered his backing to England bowler Jofra Archer, who has conceded 90 runs across two matches in the T20 World Cup; England are next in action against Scotland in Kolkata on Saturday morning, having fallen behind Italy in Group C
Saturday 14 February 2026 08:57, UK
Jamie Overton insists there is no concern over Jofra Archer as the England bowler seeks to find his form at the T20 World Cup.
Archer has endured a turbulent run in his return from injury, having seen his economy rate hit double figures across his last three T20 appearances.
He has amassed combined figures of 8-0-90-2 against Nepal and the West Indies in Mumbai as England prepare to take on Scotland and Italy in their final Group C fixtures.
"Nothing's wrong with him," Overton said. "Sometimes pace on the ball and good wickets, the ball just goes flying.
"We know what a high-class bowler Jof is. I'm sure he'll come back for the next few games and not go for many runs at all."
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Archer features as part of an unchanged England team to face Scotland in their next Group C clash in Kolkata on Saturday morning.
Captain Harry Brook also this week underlined his faith in Archer, who continues to bowl upwards of 90mph on a consistent basis.
"No, not really (if he is concerned about Archer)," said Brook. "Everybody knows how good Jof is. He'll bounce back for sure. He's bowling rapid and I'm sure he'll execute better in the coming games," said Brook.
Archer, who returned from a side strain earlier than expected in the wake of a premature end to his Ashes campaign, had only been hit for 10 or more an over in six of 35 T20s for England prior to this tournament.
England are coming off a 30-run defeat to the West Indies, marking their first loss in nine T20s, having beaten Nepal by four runs in their opener.
Brook insisted his team had been too "careful" in their chase of 197, England notably undone by spin against the Windies.
"We played spin really well in Sri Lanka (when England won both ODI and T20 series recently)," said Overton.
"This was just one of those where we were maybe a bit careful and we didn't quite execute as well as we would like. These things happen, we learn from it and come back stronger in Kolkata."
Salt: Room for improvement after West Indies blemish
England need to win their final two fixtures while relying on the Windies not slipping up in order to guarantee themselves a spot in the Super Eight.
"We're in a good place and have been playing good cricket for a while," England opener Phil Salt told Sky Sports.
"The Nepal game, even though conditions changed, it wasn't our best cricket by a long way. The West Indies was the first blemish on us in a while. We have to remember that, as a group, everything is about the opportunity in front of us and being excited.
"Teams don't go far in these competitions by sitting back, finding a safe way into the game, you have to find a smart and aggressive way into the game."
Salt stressed the importance of 'adapting' to the changing conditions at the World Cup, and downplayed any notion of worry in the wake of his side's recent defeat.
"I think adapting is the big thing in this World Cup, in these conditions," he continued. "In the first innings against Nepal it spun quite a bit and then got better in the second innings. We had the reverse of that against the West Indies.
"The skill is in adapting, in reading that situation and playing accordingly. We have the players to adapt and change the game plan; it's about going out there and playing with personality.
"I think we've been good in patches. We know there's room for improvement coming off the West Indies game. We weren't too pleased with our performance but you have to give credit where it's due.
"We know there's room in the tank and know we realistically do need to get better, but very confident we will.
"We've been here before. We've been in this position before, maybe it brings the best out of us when our backs are against the wall."
Scotland spark into action at late World Cup call
Scotland had originally missed out on the World Cup after losing to Italy in qualifiers, before receiving a late call up to replace Bangladesh. It came after the ICC rejected Bangladesh Cricket Board's request to shift its games from India to Sri Lanka due to security concerns.
Cue a frantic logistical turnaround.
"Probably allowed myself 20 seconds to get excited and then that echo of fear about getting visas and people in the country in enough time, the selection element and player readiness, we were thinking about 2027 and qualification for that," Cricket Scotland Head of Performance Steve Snell told Sky Sports.
"All of a sudden we're having those meetings about who is fit, who were are selecting.
"The backroom staff, myself included, have learned some new skills. It was a collective team effort. Our doctor Raj (Raj McRea-Routray), probably the most intelligent man across the business, became kit man for a few days.
"Nobody was too big to get their hands dirty with anything, the goal of getting to the World Cup superseded any pride in terms of duties. We hadn't played an international game of cricket for seven or eight months."
Scotland opened their campaign with a 35-run defeat to the West Indies before beating Italy by 73 runs in their second Group C matchup.
"There was inherent disappointment at the qualifier last year," Snell added. "We used that as a bit of a reset for Cricket Scotland. We put a huge focus on the fitness element the first half of the winter and we're building towards 2027 and 2028 World Cup. All of a sudden from being that fitness focused and skill development, 10/15 days later we're here playing the West Indies at Eden Gardens.
"There's no pressure on Scotland in terms of this World Cup. To come off the beach, or the mountains, with little cricket and to take on some of the World's best, the pressure has been on others to beat us because it would be some story to come away from the competition with two or three wins."
England's T20 World Cup fixtures and results (first round)
All times UK and Ireland; all games live on Sky Sports
- Beat Nepal by four runs (Mumbai)
- Lost to West Indies by 30 runs (Mumbai)
- vs Scotland (Saturday February 14) - Kolkata (9.30am)
- vs Italy (Monday February 16) - Kolkata (9.30am)
Watch the Men's T20 World Cup live on Sky Sports from February 7 to March 8. Get Sky Sports or stream contract-free with NOW.
