England’s managing director, Ashley Giles reckons that the pacer, breach of the bio-secures regulations by Jofra Archer could have cost “tens of millions of pounds”. The fiery pacer was dramatically dropped from the playing XI of the second Test at Emirates Old Trafford in Manchester on Thursday. Archer was omitted after he went home to Brighton where he met an unnamed individual, who has tested negative for COVID-19.

Archer’s breach of the rules followed a concerted effort by the England and Wales Cricket Board to persuade both the West Indies and Pakistan to go ahead with their scheduled tours despite tens of thousands of coronavirus deaths in Britain. Ireland and Australia are also scheduled to visit this season.

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Talking to the reporters on Thursday, Giles said, “This could have been a disaster. The ripple effect this could have had throughout the whole summer could have cost us tens of millions of pounds. There will be a disciplinary process to go through. With the help of (the British) government and the help of the opposition, in this case, the West Indies, the series was set up with these protocols and we have to abide by them.”

But Giles also expressed his sympathy for Archer as he said that youngsters like him are bound to make mistakes and he is quite sure that Jofra will learn from it. 

Before play started Thursday, Archer issued an apology in an ECB statement, saying: “I am extremely sorry for what I have done. 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 apologize to everyone in the bio-secure bubble.”

Apart from Archer, pacers James Anderson and Mark Wood were also rested from the second Test but Jofra needs to twice test negative for COVID-19 before his isolation period is lifted.

At the end of Day 1 of the second Test, Dom Sibley played an unbeaten knock of 86 as England ended Thursday’s first day in Manchester on 207-3 after slumping to 29-2.

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West Indies need to win just one of the two remaining Tests in order to win their first to secure their first Test series victory in England for 32 years.