England cricket's Jofra Archer could have caused COVID-19 disaster, complains Ashley Giles

England cricket team's fast bowler Jofra Archer was recently axed from the national side's lineup for their second Test match against West Indies. The clash started on Thursday at Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester. Hours after that, director of England cricket and former cricketer, Ashley Giles said that Archer's breach of the bio-security protocols could have caused a "disaster."

The 25-year old pacer had visited his home in Brighton after concluding the first Test in Southampton. He effectively breached the carefully planned security bubble that keeps everyone in the competition safe.

In the first Test, he went wicketless in the first innings but claimed three valuable dismissals during the second and was England's best bowler at the time. While he seemed to have established himself as an indispensable part of the national side, his mistake cost him a place in the squad.

In an interview with BBC, the 47-year old legendary spinner said, "The ripple effect it could have had could have cost us tens of millions of pounds. There will be a disciplinary process to go through. That's ongoing. That's an employment matter and we'll settle that in good time. Jofra has demonstrated how sorry he is, but it's clearly very disappointing. He's a young man and young men make mistakes, and he's just got to learn from them. The potential knock-on effect of this, I don't think he could have fully understood."

The English team made multiple changes in their lineup ahead of the second Test. Archer was understood to be the only fast bowler who would have been retained for the game. However, he now has to self-isolate for five days. Within this period, he will be tested twice for the coronavirus.

That means he will not be available at least before the third and final Test match commences. However, he shall be allowed to return to his group only if both of his COVID-19 tests come negative. Additionally, it also remains to be seen if the England Cricket Board takes any disciplinary action against Archer, which could impact his chances of playing in the final match of the series against West Indies.

Due to the ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic, England has been forced to conduct their series against West Indies, and upcoming competitions against Ireland, Pakistan and Australia in bio-secure locations at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton and Emirates Old Trafford.