Former West Indies youth all-rounder Jofra Archer will be eligible to play for England in both The Ashes and at next year’s ICC World Cup after the England and Wales Cricket Board announced a change to its eligibility criteria from seven to three years.

Archer was born and raised in Barbados, and represented the West Indies at the Under-19 level.

Under the previous regulations, the 23 year old had been braced to serve a seven-year residency qualification, which would have made him available to England in 2022.

In a press release, the ECB confirmed the changing criteria for players such as Archer, who migrated to the United Kingdom after their 18th birthday, stating that the new regulations brought the board in line with the ICC’s own regulations, which were themselves amended this year from four to three years.

The change will come into effect on January 1, 2019, meaning that Archer could conceivably make his England debut on the tour of the West Indies that starts later that month.

However, it is understood that, in order to meet his 210-day limit in time for that tour, Archer – who is currently playing in the T10 League in the United Arab Emirates – might have to renege on some of his oversees commitments otherwise, he will be become eligible to play for England in March.

England’s visit to the Caribbean in 2019 gets under underway with three Test matches from January 23 to February 13.

The tour also consists of five One Day Internationals from February 20 to March 2 and three T20 Internationals between March 5-10.