Jason Gillespie believes Sussex will not be hampered by Jofra Archer’s absence should the fast bowler be included in England’s plans for this summer’s World Cup and Ashes series.

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With Archer performing well in the Indian Premier League for Rajasthan Royals and in the Big Bash for Hobart Hurricanes before that, the 24-year-old, who was born in Barbados but holds a British passport and last month became eligible for England selection, may well feature in the national selector’s plans. That would leave a gap in his county side, who take on Leicestershire from Friday in their season opener. But the coach believes Archer’s form merits an England call-up.

“I’m very excited for Jofra,” Gillespie said. “We don’t know yet how much commitment he’s going to have with England, I’d certainly be picking him if I was a selector. But if he comes and plays one game for Sussex or 10 games, that’s essentially out of our control, it’s up to the England selectors.

“We’ll have him whenever he’s available, but if he’s not that just gives another Sussex player the opportunity to play for the county. If he’s here, great, but if not then we’ve got plans in place to cover that.”

Gillespie’s first season saw Sussex finish third in the Division Two, just missing out on a promotion spot. But the Australian is optimistic about their chances this term. “Our mantra last year was progression,” he said. “We can continue to try and evolve and get better – all our reviews revolved around [whether we] win, lose or draw, around what lessons can we take from this game going forward.”

The team’s “attitude is always good, we always talk about that, we talk about body language, our energy in the field, we just focus on the right things at the right time. If we focus on the right things often enough and we implement our plans consistently and well, then results will look after themselves.”

Also looking ahead to England’s busy summer is Keaton Jennings, who knows the harsh realities of life at the top level and is aware that only significant runs will keep him in the Test squad. His 146 not out against Sri Lanka in Galle in November seemed to have secured his place in Joe Root’s side but he struggled thereafter, failing to reach 30 in any of his subsequent eight Test innings.

“It was a tough winter, it was really hard work,” the Lancashire opener said. “Mentally, the disintegration when you see yourself in the news, especially when you aren’t doing well, is tough to handle. I’ve always been a level-headed guy. I think I’ve been quite good at staying isolated in the last 18 months, which is probably why I’ve stayed sane.

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“I’ve also had the love of my family, which has been fantastic. But it is hard. You can walk into a room and feel like everybody is thinking about you playing a cover drive when in reality people are actually going on about their day. You need to take cricket out of your personal life. But it’s professional sport, you need to bounce back.

“I’m paid to open the batting and score runs and that is the reality of it. If you stop doing that then you need to find another job. You can be told technical things but the reality of the situation is you need to score runs, you need to score big runs [in order] to knock on the door.”