Christopher James Jordan (born 4 October 1988) is a Bajan British cricketer who plays for England in One Day International (ODI) and Twenty20 International (T20I) cricket, and previously played for the Test team. In domestic cricket, he represents Surrey, having previously played for Sussex, and has played in multiple Twenty20 leagues.
Jordan made his ODI debut on 2013, his T20I debut in 2014, and played for the Test team between 2014 and 2015. He was part of the England team that won the 2022 T20 World Cup.
Jordan plays as a right-arm fast-medium bowler. He is England's highest wicket-taker in T20Is.
Jordan and both of his parents were born in Barbados; his maternal grandparents are British citizens. After initially being educated at Combermere School in Bridgetown, Barbados where he studied alongside singer Rihanna, he gained a sporting scholarship to complete his formal education at Dulwich College, in England.
Jordan made his 1st XI debut for Surrey versus Middlesex at Lord's in August 2007. He took 2âÂÂ41 on his first-class debut and in his second match, versus Durham, helped to dismiss the home team by taking 3âÂÂ42. He received the NBC Denis Compton Award as Surrey's most promising young player in 2007.
After suffering a stress fracture of the back, Jordan was unable to play in the 2010 English cricket season. He resumed training in December that year.
At the end of the 2012 season, Jordan was released by Surrey after six years with the county. He returned to Barbados to play a second winter season for the Barbados national cricket team, before joining Sussex for the English 2013 season, taking championship best figures of 6âÂÂ48 on debut against Yorkshire.
Qualified to play for both the West Indies and England (through both maternal genealogy and residency), he chose to play for England. He made his ODI debut in September 2013 against Australia, and took his first ODI five-wicket haul against Sri Lanka on 28 May 2014 at Old Trafford, with figures of 5 for 29, helping England to a 10-wicket win.
Jordan was named in the England Test squad for their series against Sri Lanka, before making his debut in the first Test.
He was also named in the 3rd, 4th and 5th Test matches of India's tour of England in 2014.
Jordan made his ODI debut against Australia, taking figures of 3âÂÂ51. Jordan's selection had come as a surprise to many following his injury problems. Jordan played in the first two matches of the return series in Australia, taking 1âÂÂ50 and 2âÂÂ53. Jordan played in the final three games of the series, the pick of his figures being 2âÂÂ37 in the final game of the series. Jordan's economy rate did not pass 6.00 runs per over in any of the games, making him one of England's stand out bowlers.
Jordan made his T20 debut at the World Cup against New Zealand in a rain affected match. He took 2âÂÂ28 in the second match against Sri Lanka as England secured an unlikely victory. Jordan played in the defeat against South Africa which ended their hopes of progressing in the competition. He took 1âÂÂ13 in three overs against the Netherlands but was unable to prevent an embarrassing defeat for England.
In the first match of the ODI series against Sri Lanka, Jordan excelled, taking 3âÂÂ25 and smashing 38 off just 16 balls. This earned him the man of the match award. Jordan took 5âÂÂ29 in the third match of the series as England cruised to victory. Jordan was expensive in the fourth match, managing 2âÂÂ67 as Sri Lanka won the match to take the series into a decider. In the final match he took 1âÂÂ55 as England lost the game and the series 3âÂÂ2. Jordan was called up to the test team to face Sri Lanka following his impressive performances. In the first test, he took 5 wickets in the match but was unable to force a victory as the match ended in a draw. He was less impressive for the second match, failing to take a wicket as England lost by 100 runs.
Jordan was selected in the squad for the first test against India, but missed out as Ben Stokes returned from injury. He was also named in the squad for the second test. He played in his first game of the series in the third Test. He did not take a wicket in the match, but kept his place for the next match of the series. Here he was again not at his best, although he did take three wickets to help England go 2âÂÂ1 up in the series. In the final test of the series, Jordan took 3âÂÂ32 in the first innings, before making 20 with the bat. With England in a commanding position he took 4âÂÂ18 in the second innings to help England win the match and the series 3âÂÂ1. He played in the second ODI against India, although he did not perform well, finishing with figures of 0âÂÂ73. He did not play again in the series.
Jordan was selected in the squad for the return series against Sri Lanka. He made his first appearance of the tour in the third ODI, where he took figures of 2âÂÂ46. He took 2âÂÂ35 in the next game, although England lost. In the fifth ODI he took another two wickets to keep England's hopes of winning the series alive. He proved expensive in the next game, finishing with figures of 2âÂÂ68. He ended he tour by taking another two wickets, although England again lost to lose the series 5âÂÂ2.
Jordan only played once in England's tri series against India and Australia, taking figures of 1âÂÂ33 in the first match of the tournament against Australia. He made 17 with the bat but England suffered defeat. This proved to be Jordan's only game of the series.
Jordan was overlooked at the start of the World Cup and did not play until England met Bangladesh in a must win game. Jordan took figures of 2âÂÂ59 as Bangladesh posted 275. Jordan was later run out for a duck as England failed to chase the target and were eliminated. In the final game against Afghanistan Jordan picked up the man of the match award after picking up figures of 2âÂÂ13 to help England win by nine wickets.
Jordan kept his place in the team for the tour of West Indies. In the first innings of the first Test, he remained unbeaten on 21. After taking 1âÂÂ46 in the first innings, he took 1âÂÂ48 in the second innings as England were unable to force a result. In the second Test he took 2âÂÂ65 in West Indies first innings and followed this up taking a wicket in the second innings to help England win the game. In the third Test he was less effective. He failed to take a wicket in the West Indies first innings as they were bowled out for 189. After England collapsed in their second innings, Jordan took 1âÂÂ24 in the West Indies second innings but England lost the game by five wickets as the West Indies levelled the series at 1âÂÂ1.
Although Jordan didn't play in the Test series, he returned to the fold for the ODI series. He picked up figures of 1âÂÂ33 in the first match, as England secured an emphatic victory. However, he was expensive in the next match, taking figures of 1âÂÂ97 as New Zealand posted 398 to secure a win on the D/L method. Jordan injured himself in the match and was ruled out of the rest of the series, which England went on to win 3âÂÂ2.
After being left out of the matches against Australia, Jordan returned against Pakistan. Jordan played in the first T20 against Pakistan, finishing with figures of 0âÂÂ37. After being rotated in the second match, he returned in the third match of the series and took figures of 3âÂÂ23, as the scores were tied. Jordan was entrusted to bowl the Super Over and England won the match.
After not playing in the South Africa ODI series, Jordan returned to the fold for the South Africa series. He played in the first three internationals, although had limited success. After taking 0âÂÂ56 in England's win in the first ODI, he took figures of 0âÂÂ33 in the second match of the series, which England also won. He took 1âÂÂ54 in the next match, although was again expensive, going at over seven runs per over. Although he wasn't selected for the rest of the ODI series, he returned to the fold in the T20I series. He took 3âÂÂ23 in the first match, but was expensive in the second, taking figures of 0âÂÂ48.
Jordan was a key member of the England T20 World Cup squad, playing every game in England's run to the final. He took figures of 0âÂÂ24 against the West Indies, but was expensive against South Africa. He picked up his first wicket of the tournament as England beat Afghanistan, and then took match winning figures of 4âÂÂ28 as England beat Sri Lanka to qualify for the semi-finals. Jordan continued to impress with his death bowling, taking figures of 1âÂÂ24. In the final against West Indies, he took 0âÂÂ36 as England narrowly lost and finished as runners-up.
He played in the third ODI against Sri Lanka and took figures of 1âÂÂ49 as the match ended in a draw due to rain. He returned to the team for the fifth ODI, and took figures of 0âÂÂ40 as England won by 122 runs. He played in the only T20I between the two teams, taking figures of 3âÂÂ29 to help reduce Sri Lanka to 140 as England won by eight wickets.
Jordan played in the final two ODIS against Pakistan. In the fourth ODI he took figures of 2âÂÂ42 as England restricted Pakistan to 247/8 and won the match by four wickets. In the final match of the series he finished with figures of 0âÂÂ52 after making an unbeaten 15, as England lost the match by four wickets but won the series 4âÂÂ1. Jordan only bowled one over in the T20I between the two teams, finishing with figures of 0âÂÂ16 as England lost by nine wickets.
He was selected to play for the 2016âÂÂ17 India tour. However he didn't make the starting eleven, but during the 3rd ODI he replaced the injured David Willey as a substitute fielder. Jordan took 1âÂÂ27 in the first T20 against India, which England won by seven wickets. In the second T20I he took 3âÂÂ22 to help restrict India to 144âÂÂ8, although England lost by five runs. He was expensive in the final match of the series, taking figures of 1âÂÂ56 as England lost by 75 runs to lose the series 2âÂÂ1. Jordan was the leading wicket taker for England in T20's in this series.
Jordan was selected for the T20Is series in WI 2019. He played the first T20I in which he had figures of 2-16(3). After this he was considered for selection in England's 2019 Cricket World Cup squad.
On 29 May 2020, Jordan was named in a 55-man group of players to begin training ahead of international fixtures starting in England following the COVID-19 pandemic. On 4 September 2020, in the opening T20I against Australia, Jordan played in his 50th T20I match. On 1 December 2020, in the third match against South Africa, Jordan became the leading wicket-taker for England in T20I cricket, taking his 66th dismissal. In September 2021, Jordan was named in England's squad for the 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup. In September 2022, Jordan was named in England's squad for the 2022 T20i world cup. Jordan did not play during the group stage but replaced an injured Mark Wood for the semi-final against India, in which he took 3-43, notably bowling three consecutive overs at the death. He then went on to play in the final against Pakistan in which he took 2âÂÂ27 with England winning the match and tournament.
In May 2024, he was named in EnglandâÂÂs squad for the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup tournament. In England's first match against Scotland, he bowled 2 overs at the expense of 24 runs, before the game was washed out. In England's second match against Australia, he took 2 wickets in 4 overs, at the costly expense of 44 runs. He did not get a chance to bowl in England's third match against Oman. In England's fourth match against Namibia, he took 2 wickets in 2 overs at the expense of 19 runs. In England's Super Eight match against West Indies, he did not get a chance to bowl, nor did he get a chance to bowl in the second Super Eight match against South Africa. His best performance by far was against the USA. He bowled the 19th over of the match, during which he took 4 wickets in 5 balls. He managed to get Corey Anderson caught at long-on, and then managed a dot against Ali Khan. Then he bowled him out the very next ball. After that, he trapped Nosthush Kenjige lbw, followed by bowling Saurabh Netravalkar out, finishing up USA's lower order and getting a hat-trick.
In 2016, following his success in ICC World T20 2016, he was signed as a replacement player for Royal Challengers Bangalore in place of the injured Mitchell Starc. He picked up 11 wickets from the 9 matches he played. His best figures 4/11 came against Gujarat Lions. He was released by the RCB ahead of the 2017 Auction.
In February 2017, he was selected by the defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad for the 2017 Indian Premier League for 50 lakhs Rupees. He only managed to play one match against Kolkata Knight Riders in the eliminator. In the 2020 IPL auction, he was bought by the Kings XI Punjab for 3 crore ahead of the 2020 Indian Premier League. In February 2022, he was bought by the Chennai Super Kings in the auction for the 2022 Indian Premier League tournament.
In October 2016, Jordan was signed by Peshawar Zalmi for the 2017 PSL during the 2017 players draft in the gold category earning US$50,000. He played a major part in his team's debut title win, and as a result was retained in the silver category by the franchise for the next season. In December 2019, Jordan was signed by Karachi Kings in the Diamond category following the 2020 players draft for the 2020 Pakistan Super League played entirely in Pakistan. In January 2021, he was picked by Islamabad United for the 2021 Pakistan Super League following the 2021 PSL draft in the supplementary category, but was unable to play due to national duties. In December 2021, he was again picked by the Karachi Kings as their supplementary pick for the 2022 Pakistan Super League.
In November 2017, he was named for the Chittagong Vikings squad in Bangladesh Premier League where he played a few matches for the team. In September 2018, he was named in Paktia's squad in the first edition of the Afghanistan Premier League tournament. In January 2019, Jordan played for the Northern Knights in the 2018âÂÂ19 Super Smash tournament in New Zealand.
In 2021, he was drafted by Southern Brave for the inaugural season of The Hundred. He was a key member of the title winning squad and contributed both with the bat and ball. He scored 54 runs and picked 9 wickets in 10 matches. In April 2022, he was bought by the Southern Brave for the 2022 season of The Hundred.
For the 2023âÂÂ24 Big Bash League season, Jordan joined the Hobart Hurricanes.