After making his Melbourne Renegades debut in the final game of last season, the red end of the city’s T20 franchises will see more of the 29-year-old leggy after announcing Archer’s inclusion for BBL16.
With good academy form across the past few seasons and his one-off appearance in BBL15 providing valuable intel, Archer has patiently bided his time on the fringes for a full-time gig.
No longer.
“It’s nice to know this far out,” Archer said to the News.
“You’re not worrying or wondering so much about it, and you can just have a lot of time to prepare.
“It’s definitely been my strongest format; we played academy games at the end of last year and I think I bowled pretty well in those.”
The news came only a day after Archer snared 4-13 and a hat-trick in Victoria’s Top End T20 clash against the NT Strike, impressing in the pre-season competition against a collection of BBL Academies and international squads.
His eye-catching spell included the prized wicket of experienced T20 veteran Jordan Silk, a battle Archer said he was pleased to win before tearing through the NT tail in quick succession to seal a 52-run win.
Archer ended the tournament with five wickets at a low average of 17 as Victoria progressed to the final, though were unable to eclipse the Adelaide Strikers in Darwin on Sunday evening.
“It’s a funny one - often I find if I have a game where I probably don't bowl at my best, the games after that are when I probably bowl well,” he said.
“The hat-trick was bowling to nine, 10, 11, who are trying to score quickly, so you're bound to take wickets if you put the ball in the right area.
“But the overs before that bowling to Jordan Silk who is a quality player, and being able to keep him relatively quiet, I was really pleased with.
“The tournament overall is awesome, especially this time of year.”
Archer can now look ahead to a full dance card for the 2026-27 summer of cricket.
He’ll be back with Victorian Premier Cricket powerhouse Carlton once more, with an intra-club practice match scheduled for September 12 at Cooma.
And in the white ball realm, if selected for game one of the Renegades season, Archer could very well be India bound with the tournament opener taking place on December 12 at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
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