England captain Joe Root said Jofra Archer has been bowling "at the speed of light" after a difficult week in the spotlight and should be ready to fire in the Test series decider against the West Indies from Friday.
Archer returned to the England squad for the third Test in Manchester, having sat out last week's victory in the second Test following a breach of the team's bio-secure bubble.
He had to spend five days in isolation, along with a written warning and a fine. Archer then hit back at his critics in a newspaper column, also revealing racist abuse he received on social media.
Despite the turn of events, Root said he is happy with the way the pacer has trained in the past 48 hours.
Archer looks likely to make it to the playing XI as England named all six of their frontline pacers in a 14-man squad.
"I think Jofra will be ready for it. He's had two good days of training and he's got a smile on his face," said Root.
"He had his smile back because he was playing again, back out there with ball in hand doing what he loves the most, which is playing cricket.
"He's bowled the speed of light over the last couple of days in spicy nets so it wasn't much fun for our batters. I've had some good conversations with Jofra over the past few days. It is really important he's mentally in a good enough place to play the game.
"That will be factored into things as well. But we're all here to support him and get around him, he knows he's not going through this on his own and that is really important."
Root also talked about the racial attacks Archer has faced, which come in the midst of a series where both sides have shown support for the Black Lives Matter movement.
"It was disgusting to see some of the stuff he's had to put up with over the last week," he said.
"No-one should have to deal with that whether you're a professional sportsman or a kid growing up at school. It's deeply disappointing and there's no other word for it."
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England v West Indies ratings from 2nd Test
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ENGLAND RATINGS: 1) Rory Burns – 5. Only lasted an hour with the bat in the first innings, then was overlooked for duty in the second. Getty -
2) Dom Sibley – 8. Earned some criticism for the slowness of his century. Which was harsh. His attrition wore down Shannon Gabriel and Alzarri Joseph, and set up England. PA -
3) Zak Crawley – 3. Beat his good mate Joe Denly to the No 3 place in the side with Root’s returned, then promptly bagged a golden duck. Avoided a king pair, at least. AP -
4) Joe Root – 7. Still finding his way with the bat in his first game after lockdown, but played his cards well with the captaincy. Getty -
5) Ben Stokes – 9.5. Irrepressible. Scores hundreds. Whacks it further than Happy Gilmore. Bowls swing. Bowls bouncers. Nothing can keep him down. Other than a bit of indigestion. AFP -
6) Ollie Pope – 5. Missed the party in the first innings, coming in after a huge stand between Stokes and Sibley. Scampered well in search of quick runs on the last morning. Getty -
7) Jos Buttler – 6. Went in to bat twice when the situation was perfectly set for his brand of big hitting. Made 40 in the first, then missed out in the second. Getty -
8) Chris Woakes – 7. Five wickets. A miserly run rate. A fine return to the side. How England are going to decide their bowling attack for the next game, who knows? PA -
9) Sam Curran – 7. Three wickets in the match was not a spectacular haul, but it felt as though each arrived at a vital moment in the game. Reuters -
10) Dom Bess – 6. A classic offspinner’s delivery to take the crucial late wicket of Jason Holder, but England might have expected their spinner to be more of a threat sooner. Getty -
11) Stuart Broad – 8. Gave a retort to being stood down with words last week, and deeds this one. A constant threat with the ball, as he tends to be when he has a point to prove. Getty -
WEST INDIES RATINGS: 1) Kraigg Brathwaite – 7. Missed out on a good chance of a ton in the first innings, and fell early in the second for the second match running. AP -
2) John Campbell – 3. Twelve and four with the bat, but his last morning drop of Stokes was a more significant issue. It allowed England to race to set a total. Getty -
3) Shai Hope – 4. Currently a pale shadow of the player who was named Wisden Cricketer of the Year last time he played Tests in England. AFP -
4) Shamarh Brooks – 8. Half-centuries in either innings as he continues to establish his place in the Windies batting line up aged 31. AP -
5) Roston Chase – 7. Five wickets in England’s first innings – albeit at quite a cost – and a 50, too, but West Indies could have done with him sticking around on the final day. PA -
6) Jermaine Blackwood – 7. He is getting used to counter-attacking rearguards in the fourth innings. If he can deliver first time around, it would bring benefits. Reuters -
7) Shane Dowrich – 2. Could not have gone much worse for the wicketkeeper. He bagged a pair with the bat, and looked ragged with the gloves, too. AFP -
8) Jason Holder – 6. Not quite the influence he had at Southampton, but it still felt he retains semblance of control with his captaincy. His funky use of reviews in England’s second innings was good fun. PA -
9 Alzarri Joseph – 5. Not the only Windies bowler to struggle with the workload, and went off injured in the first innings. Played a neat cameo as nightwatchman. Reuters -
10) Kemar Roach – 7. More than 500 balls without a wicket since the India series - then two in two in the first innings. He had fully earned them, too. AFP -
11) Shannon Gabriel – 4. Struggled to back up his brilliance from the first Test, both in terms of fitness and discipline with the ball. Started with five wides, and bowled two balls straight to second slip. AP
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Root and coach Chris Silverwood will need to make a tough decision over the make-up of their bowling attack. Ben Stokes has been the only constant figure in the attack but he pulled up mid-over on the final day of the second Test with what has been revealed as a quad injury.
One option to cover for Stokes' injury is to pair veterans James Anderson and Stuart Broad with the speed of Archer and Mark Wood.
"We'll also have to see where Ben is at because he's still feeling it a little bit in his quad and we need to make sure he's fit to bowl. If not we'll have to have a look at things," said Root.
West Indies might continue with the same team for a third successive Test, captain Jason Holder said on Thursday.
Changes had been expected to the line-up, especially after coach Phil Simmons hinted at a new top order and fresh bowlers after 113-run defeat in the second Test.
But Holder backed under-fire batsman Shai Hope and insisted the team were in good shape ahead of the Old Trafford Test.
“Everyone has pulled up really well,” he said.
“Having Test matches with a short turnaround, such as it has been, has been tough. No doubt, both teams will be feeling it. But we’ve got enough motivation to keep pushing; we’ve got a chance to win this series, and we’ve been playing some pretty decent cricket.”
Holder said Hope, who has scored only 57 runs in four innings in the series, had his support.
"We all know what Shai can produce and has done before at this level. He’s arguably one of the best one-day batsmen in the world and we know the calibre of player he can be. I’ve got full confidence in Shai to get some runs," added Holder.
