Chris Jordan blog: How I met Jofra Archer, plus Game of Thrones, Fortnite and Gareth Southgate
"The beauty of Jof is that when the stakes become higher, when he steps up a level, his game always seems to rise with it"
Wednesday 1 May 2019 17:49, UK
England seamer Chris Jordan talks Jofra Archer's rise, being addressed by Gareth Southgate and why he's not watching Game of Thrones just yet...
It's great to be back with England; we've had a very productive camp and I'm looking forward to the cricket starting on Friday.
An opportunity presented itself to come back into the squad and now it's down to me to stick to my processes as much as possible and let results take care of themselves.
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I'm always looking to do something special and impact the game, whether the ball or bat is in my hand. That's always been my mentality and so it will remain this summer.
The boys were buzzing on Monday when Gareth Southgate came to training.
He came across as very humble and the big thing that stood out for me was that he had time for everyone, which was good because this squad is massively into football! Moeen was badgering him about Liverpool a lot!
Gareth shared some of his experiences from the 2018 Football World Cup and everyone took something from meeting him and intend to implement it in their planning - not just for this World Cup but in life.
A few of the boys in the dressing room - Mark Wood specifically - are into Game of Thrones and raving about it.
I watch it too but I tend to wait for the season to finish and then watch the entire thing in a day, so I've told Woody 'no spoilers'!
Jof (Jofra Archer) is more into Fortnite - he plays a lot of it, that's for sure, and is getting pretty good at it too!
In general, he's a really easy-going guy; he's always looking to have a laugh and can be a little bit of a prankster sometimes but it's all in good spirits.
His first England call-up is obviously a proud moment for him but also for me as well, given how close we've become over the years.
We first met back in Barbados. I went to play a couple of seasons there in first-class cricket as an overseas player back in 2012-13. I met him the year before that.
He used to come down and train with us a lot in the nets. In my first encounter with him, I went in the nets to bat and Shai Hope ran up to the stumps and said 'this kid's a lot quicker than you think, he ambles up, but he actually lets it go'.
I didn't really think much of it, let's see how it goes and his first ball is a very quick bouncer. It's whistling past my ears and I look back at Shai Hope climbing to take it above his head. Had it been on target, it definitely would have cleaned me up. He ran back to the stumps, had a little giggle and said 'I told you so'.
He came over to Sussex not too long after that and everything kept building from there.
He plays his cricket with a free mind, free mentality and it's very refreshing. Although I might be more experienced than him, obviously in terms of games played, he's still someone I'm not afraid to say I learn off as well and vice-versa.
There's always banter - it's just the nature of our relationship.
We're always competing in the nets but all in good spirits because it's a way of pushing each other and bringing the best out of each other.
Whatever competing does go on, it's not going to be any different from before. It's all in good spirits.
It's quite healthy for both of us because we know, ultimately, we don't just want each other to do well but also the entire team to do well, especially going into such a big year with that prize at the end of it of potentially lifting the World Cup.
The beauty of Jof is that when the stakes become higher, when he steps up a level, his game always seems to rise with it.
Personally, I don't see international cricket being much too different. It's just a matter of doing what he does best, going through his processes as he normally does.
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His talent is undoubted. It's just a matter of bringing that out on the international stage which I'm sure he will. He's that type of calm character and he has a lot of belief in his own ability.
Watch England's ODI against Ireland, at Malahide, live on Sky Sports Cricket from 10.30am on Friday. The one-off Twenty20 international with Pakistan, in Cardiff, is then live on Sky Sports Cricket from 2pm on Sunday.
You can watch every match of the Cricket World Cup on Sky Sports Cricket, starting with England vs South Africa on Thursday, May 30.
