Archer gets Test cap

LONDON – Barbadian fast bowler Jofra Archer was presented with his debut Test cap but didn’t get the chance to bowl as heavy rain washed out the first day of the second Ashes cricket Test between England and Australia at Lord’s yesterday without a ball being bowled.

The 24-year-old Archer received his England cap from close friend Chris Jordan during a brief break in the otherwise dreadful weather conditions with the umpires calling for a 3:30 p.m. start during a dry spell.

Archer shared a warm embrace with Sussex team-mate Jordan, also born in Barbados, after the cap presentation on the Lord’s field. But the rain began to fall again minutes, before the captains came out for the coin toss.

The umpires subsequently abandoned play around 4:20 p.m. local time and the match will officially become a four-day fixture with an extra half-hour of play allowed on each of the remaining days to make up for the day lost. (EZS/Reuters)

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