Exercising a discretionary clause could allow England to make Sussex all-rounder Jofra Archer eligible to play for the country at the ICC World Cup as well as the Ashes next year.

According to a report in the Dailymail, the England Cricket Board want to utilize a discretionary clause within eligibility regulations, which will make the fast-bowler available to play for England by April next year.

Rule three of their own playing conditions - which dictates the qualification criteria of cricketers for England - begins 'Subject to the overriding discretion of the ECB, acting with the consent of the International Cricket Council.'

So, England can ignore their self-imposed regulation and apply those used by other major nations on a case-by-case basis.

Archer’s desire to play for England could be fulfilled before the seven-year qualification period – set by the ECB for players, who were born overseas and want to switch international allegiance – which, for the Barbadian, ends in 2022.

For such cases, ICC has a four-year residency period and the ECB might change their current residency regulations to match that of the global governing body of the game.

The 23-year-old had previously represented the West Indies U-19 team in 2013, but then he decided to play for England, his father’s country.

Jofra Archer shot to fame with his performance in the Big Bash League earlier this year. With his stellar performance, the all-rounder scalped 17 wickets in 13 matches to help Hobart Hurricanes finish as the tournament runners-up.