Archer out for summer as England recall Bairstow

Fast bowler Jofra Archer has been ruled out for the summer but Jonny Bairstow has returned to the England Test squad as wicketkeeper in place of Ben Foakes.

Bairstow, who has not played for England since breaking his leg in August, will take the gloves against Ireland on 1 June.

Fast bowler Archer has a recurrence of the stress fracture in his right elbow.

James Anderson is named in the 15-man squad despite suffering a groin injury whilst playing for Lancashire.

The four-day Test against the Irish at Lord's is England's final preparation for the Ashes series against Australia, which begins on 16 June.

England squad: Ben Stokes (Durham captain), James Anderson (Lancashire), Jonny Bairstow (Yorkshire), Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), Harry Brook (Yorkshire), Zak Crawley (Kent), Ben Duckett (Nottinghamshire), Dan Lawrence (Essex), Jack Leach (Somerset), Ollie Pope (Surrey), Matthew Potts (Durham), Ollie Robinson (Sussex), Joe Root (Yorkshire), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire), Mark Wood (Durham).

Anderson is joined by Stuart Broad, Ollie Robinson and Matthew Potts in the fast-bowling department, while Mark Wood provides a high-pace option after missing the 1-1 draw in New Zealand.

There is also a recall for Chris Woakes, who last played a Test in March of last year and is yet to feature since captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum took charge.

Batter Ollie Pope has officially been confirmed as Stokes' vice-captain after leading England in warm-up matches over the winter. His elevation is significant, given Stokes' recent trouble with a long-standing knee complaint.

Surrey's Foakes, 30, can consider himself unfortunate. Regularly labelled by Stokes as "the best wicketkeeper in the world", he has been a regular for England in their run of 10 wins from their past 12 matches.

However, after Bairstow suffered his freak injury slipping on a golf course, his replacement Harry Brook enjoyed a stellar start to his Test career, with four hundreds in six matches.

That left England with a dilemma of how to accommodate the returning Bairstow, who himself smashed six centuries in 2022 before suffering the injury.

Any suggesting of re-jigging the batter order was always unlikely - some even advocated Stokes as opener - leaving a straight choice between Bairstow and Foakes.

Bairstow, 33, has kept in 49 of his 89 Tests and will take his place behind the stumps for the first time since September 2021.

"It was something we agonised over for quite some time," said England director of cricket Rob Key, who also confirmed Bairstow will bat at number seven.

"Ben Foakes has done absolutely everything that has been asked of him. We couldn't find a way to fit them both in. As hard as it is on Ben, you look at the line-up and it looks a very, very good side.

"Brendon spoke to Ben and said he was pretty upset about the fact he lost his place. I think there will be a time when we see Foakes again."

The new elbow injury is the latest setback for 28-year-old Archer, who has not played a Test since February 2021.

After a string of back and elbow problems, Archer returned to play white-ball cricket for England earlier this year.

However, he made an early return from his spell with Indian Premier League side Mumbai Indians after suffering further discomfort in his elbow and a scan has revealed the stress fracture.

He will spend time recovering with medical teams from England and his county Sussex, but there must now be huge doubts over whether Archer will ever add to his 13 Test caps.

"Jofra deserves a bit of luck. He's pretty distraught about what happened," said Key.

"Sometimes people think he'll go down a white-ball road and he's not interested in Test cricket. That's absolutely not the case. He is desperate to play all forms of cricket.

"I hope he gets the chance to do that. I'm sure we'll see him back at some point."

Though Archer will miss the rest of the home season, Key did not rule out a return in time for England's defence of the 50-over World Cup in India in October and November.

'England choose the firestarter over the firefighter'

Analysis by the BBC's chief cricket writer Stephan Shemilt

For all the talk of rejigging the batting order to accommodate the returning Jonny Bairstow, it was always likely to be Ben Foakes that was most vulnerable.

Realistically, Foakes has lost his place to Harry Brook, whose four centuries in six Tests demanded inclusion.

There will be concern that England have opted for Bairstow's runs over Foakes' superior glovework - Cricviz rate Foakes as the best keeper to have played 10 or more Tests since 2016 and his impact with the gloves give him a 10-run advantage over Bairstow over the course of a Test.

But Bairstow is no novice behind the stumps. A catch completion rate of 88% in the 49 Tests he has taken the gloves is even better than Foakes' 81%.

Foakes has been a reliable presence in England's middle order - a fireman who can navigate from danger when the flash players ahead of him have had their fingers burnt.

He played important innings in the defeats of New Zealand at Lord's, South Africa at Old Trafford and Pakistan in Karachi.

Bairstow, though, can bring pyrotechnics and is more likely to win a Test from number seven.

Realistically, he will strike more fear into the Australians and a line-up of Joe Root, Brook, Ben Stokes and Bairstow looks thrilling.

Foakes might be the fireman, but to get Ashes you need fire and England have opted for the firestarter.

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