Ben Stokes defends Jofra Archer's absence from England Test side vs New Zealand due to IPL duties: 'The landscape of cricket has changed'

England Test captain Ben Stokes has defended Jofra Archer's absence from England's side to face New Zealand at Lord's, saying that the "landscape of cricket has changed".

Despite being on a central contract, Archer has not been included in the England side for the first Test, starting on Thursday live on Sky Sports, and was instead allowed to continue playing for the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL playoffs.

The decision has faced widespread criticism - former England captain Michael Atherton called the situation incredibly frustrating, while former Black Caps seamer Simon Doull went further as he labelled it "absolutely ludicrous".

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England head coach Brendon McCullum has also cast doubt on whether Archer will be available for the second Test.

While Stokes says he understands "both sides" of the argument, he believes those criticising the decision are not looking at the cricketing landscape as it currently is. Rather, they are thinking about it in the context of cricket from a decade or more ago.

"I know it has been spoken about the last couple of weeks about that situation. I totally understand people's frustrations around the situation but there is also another side to it," Stokes said.

"A lot of it has got to do with the landscape of cricket and where it is at the moment.

"I think a lot of the points people have been making about Jofra in that situation are to do with the landscape when they were playing. It is completely different now.

"There is opportunity for cricketers now that there wasn't 10 or 20 years ago.

"In an ideal situation, it would be unbelievably great to have everyone available at every single opportunity - but that is not the way of cricket at the moment.

"I get both sides of the story. You want players to take those opportunities and I want players to play for England.

"There is a situation in which it could get messy and players like Jofra might not play for England again if you handle it in a different way, and that is not good for anyone.

"Jofra has shown he is committed and loves playing for England. Just because he is not available for this first Test match does not change that."

Stokes said that the case of Jacob Bethell is further evidence of how cricket is continuously changing.

The Test skipper saw the England No 3 ahead of the series for the first time just a couple of days ago due to his hectic schedule, including a long stint in the IPL.

All-rounder Bethell sustained a left ring finger injury while playing for Royal Challengers Bengaluru, an injury which saw him return to England at the end of May in order to be fit for this series.

"The first time I saw him was two days ago and it is just one of those things where your No 3 has a great few weeks in Australia, goes off and does nine or 10 weeks in India and then you see him two or three days before a Test match," Stokes added.

"It is almost becoming the norm and the game is just changing all the time.

"There are some things you have just got to roll with and accept."

Will Bashir feature in first Test? The weather could decide that!

McCullum said earlier this week that England would play a spinner, namely Shoaib Bashir after he was named in the trimmed 12-player squad ahead of Rehan Ahmed.

Bashir was England's No 1 spinner in Tests since 2024 but missed the second half of last year's home series against India after sustaining a fractured finger, and was then overlooked throughout the 4-1 Ashes drubbing in Australia over the winter.

While "frustrating" for Bashir, Stokes believes he has progressed and will be a better bowler for it.

"The thing with Bashir was, it was his first time since he has been in the England team where he has been able to go away for a long period of time and play for Derby[shire]," he said.

"He has worked on some technical things - which you can see he has worked very hard on.

"We are very happy with the progression he has made. He has been bowling overs for Derby and he is someone who we see having a very long career for England as a spinner.

"He is in a great place, he is excited. Obviously, Australia didn't go how he imagined it would have done for him but he went away, worked hard, and has become a better bowler from it.

"He deserves to be in the 12."

While a spin option seems likely for England, Stokes admitted that the projected inclement weather on day one and day two may lead to a change of plan.

"We will name that XI at the toss but there is weather about so we are just giving ourselves as many options as we can," Stokes said.

"[Whether we play] A spinner will be dictated by how much time we lose at the start of the game tomorrow. We might not toss on day one, we might not toss on day two.

"If we don't lose too much time then it will be very likely we will be playing a spinner."

Robinson is 'world class'

Ollie Robinson also looks set to make his first Test appearance for England in over two years, with Stokes confirming that he and Gus Atkinson will "more than likely" take the new ball in the first Test.

Stokes insists Robinson has worked hard to regain his spot in the England camp but made clear that the main task for him now is retaining a place by showing just why he is "world class".

"We have spoken to Ollie and he knows the reason he has found himself back here is because he has done what we wanted to see from him," said the England captain.

"You guys all know that when he is operating at that level, he is world class.

"His Test matches that he has played in so far - his numbers are up there with the very best.

"For him, the easy part was always getting back in because he is that good. Now he is here, it is about staying here for as long as he can.

"I think the time away from the team, as frustrating as it was for him, hopefully we see Ollie Robinson in an England shirt for the next four, five, six years."

Watch the first Test between England and New Zealand, at Lord's, live on Sky Sports Cricket and Main Event from 10am on Thursday (11am first ball). Not got Sky? Get Sky Sports or stream with NOW.

(c) Sky Sports 2026: Ben Stokes defends Jofra Archer's absence from England Test side vs New Zealand due to IPL duties: 'The landscape of cricket has changed'