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Jofra Archer was grieving cousin's death throughout the World Cup, says father Frank
England pacer Jofra Archer carried on playing in the ICC World Cup despite his cousin's death
The 12th edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup saw a new hero emerge in the bowling department for England. Jofra Archer bowled the super over of the final and helped his side become the World Champions for the first time ever. The England star was grieving over the death of his cousin in Barbados during his side's success throughout the edition. His cousin, Ashantio Blackman, 24, was shot dead outside his home in St Philip the day after their memorable victory over South Africa on the opening day of the tournament. In spite of the shocking news, Jofra Archer finished as the third highest wicket-taker with 20 scalps in 11 innings during the World Cup.
Archer's father Frank told, "His cousin is the same age as Jofra and they were really close, he even messaged him in the days before he died. Jofra was really affected by his death but had to carry on."
He said, "People have been questioning his Britishness, but him playing for England has shown he will inspire everyone to play cricket, because it's usually seen as an elitist sport."
The Man of the final, Ben Stokes, who scored a brilliant 84 to help his side tie the match admitted England's post-match celebrations. He said, "the latest night I've had for a very, very long time."
"After what I've been through, it does make these moments feel all the sweeter because you are going to have ups and downs, but it is how you cope with that matters. It was eventually great to eventually get hold of mum and dad back in New Zealand as well, they were over the moon. Redemption is a word that people have been using, but that is not something I'm thinking about. I certainly wasn't thinking about it while I was trying to win the game."
