Archer, on his international debut, returned with figures of 1/40 © Getty

Jofra Archer's eligibility to play for England came a tad earlier than he expected. Having arrived in the country in 2016, he hoped to go through a seven-year process to qualify to represent the country. The process was eventually fast-tracked with him becoming eligible last month.

After a successful stint with Rajasthan Royals in the IPL, he left the tournament midway to join England's squad for their series against Ireland, making his much-awaited debut in Dublin on Friday (May 3), returning 1-40. He took the new ball alongside David Willey and had a good first spell. He returned later to pick up his maiden international wicket with a 90 mph delivery that crashed into the offstump, accounting for Mark Adair.

"It's done now. I'm here," said Archer. "It happened a bit quicker than I expected - I had my eyes set on 2023 and to be given the opportunity so early is really exciting. I'm here with a great team at a great time.

"I generally don't sleep too early," he said. "I probably was thinking about today a bit, but not too much. I didn't really have a chance to think about [the wicket]. The guy was starting to up the ante a bit, so I was just focused on getting him out, [although] obviously I was a bit excited."

Archer missed out on England's preliminary World Cup 15 when it was announced last month, but has a T20I and five ODIs against Pakistan to push his case for a spot in the tournament. Although he said he wasn't setting his heart on that too much, Archer's bid to force his way into the squad had elicited guarded responses from the likes of Chris Woakes, David Willey and Mark Wood. Archer said he had spoken to them since and the issue has been resolved.

"It's been very welcoming," Archer said. "I knew most of the guys before coming here but it's nice to come into a new team with some people you know. Sometimes the media can get things wrong and misquote people. Since I've been here I didn't feel any malice at all. It's a really welcoming bunch of lads. I'm happy.

"It's game by game, I'm not thinking too far ahead. If I do well here it will probably put my case forward. But I'm not focusing on the World Cup spot. Anyone would think about it. But [all I can do is] just play well here and hope, I guess. I'll try not to set my heart on it. Obviously the guys have been together a long time and they probably do deserve it so I won't feel too bad if I'm left out."