Archer waits in the wings as Stokes puts focus on squad togetherness

After missing Monday's training session due to a family emergency, Jofra Archer was at Edgbaston on Tuesday making up for lost time.

A strong session in the nets on the Colts Ground included a stint bowling at Ben Stokes. Unsurprising, really. Archer is not the first bowler to be left out of an XI and immediately seek to give his captain a reminder of their talents the day before a Test.

It perhaps spoke to who had the better of that duel that Stokes ended up rushing to his 11.15am press conference after opting for another hit to get some groove back. Not that Stokes needed a reminder of Archer's qualities, or indeed Archer had anything to prove, despite missing the cut for this second Test against India.

"I know Jof, obviously, a lot better than you guys sat down here," Stokes said, when assessing the situation around his 30-year-old quick, and the notion Archer would need to be kept interested in a format he has not played for over four years.

"I've been in constant communication with him since the injuries. And I said it a few times - he was so determined to get back and play Test cricket or to make himself available to be selected. So, look, he didn't need any more reason to find any more desire. He loves playing cricket. He loves playing for England."

The figurative "here" of being Test-ready for a first appearance of the new era - he has previously played one Test under Stokes in 2020 - was as important as the literal.

Having returned for Sussex last week against Durham - his first red-ball appearance since May 2021 - Archer could have dropped back into their match against Warwickshire at Hove to add to the 18 overs of work last week. ECB regulations state that players released from international duty can be shoehorned back into ongoing County Championship fixtures, provided there are at least two days remaining, which would have been the case on Tuesday.

However, England confirmed on Monday that none of their four unused squad members would be released for their respective county fixtures. While Jacob Bethell was always due to remain as the spare batter, Archer, Sam Cook and Jamie Overton were probably glad to be saved from what looks to be hard toil with the Kookaburra ball.

Having that trio of seam bowlers around the group, particularly Archer, was seen by Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum as far more beneficial.

"This is something we had to consider around bringing him back into the squad," Stokes told BBC Test Match Special when asked why Archer was not released to play for Sussex.

"For me, personally, and Baz as well, we felt if he didn't play it was important to have Jof around the group, around the people, to get him back into the environment again. Having him back in the squad is great but we want him to play a part in the series and going forward with this group.

"There were benefits to both situations, but how me and Baz think about the time we spend as a group is very important as well. He (Archer) has been playing for a long time. He has bowled a lot of overs. You can't really control how a first-class game will go. Because of how last week went, he [only] got 18 overs in a week."

Of course, Archer has been around England set-ups plenty, even with his elbow and lower-back travails. Since his last Test cap on the India tour in 2021 - not just under a different regime but during the pandemic - Archer has played 41 ODIs and T20Is for England. Nine of them have been with McCullum in charge, since the unification of his red- and white-ball coaching roles at the start of the year.

While Archer is au fait with how McCullum and Stokes work, the squad as a whole has an altogether different feel. One which, despite McCullum and Harry Brook's best efforts, they have yet to replicate across the other codes. As such, keeping "newer" players around, even when they are not in the XI, makes sense.

By design, this environment is geared towards making Test cricket more enjoyable, on and off the pitch, and thus more attractive to players at a time when T20 riches are hard to spurn. And it is not just Archer who has that option open to him.

Even Overton, who made his one and only Test appearance under Stokes and McCullum in the 2022 summer, is still embedding.

Speaking to ESPNcricinfo in April while at the IPL with Chennai Super Kings, Overton had not even considered that Test cricket may be across his radar this summer: "There's not many bowlers that play all three formats now… It's going to take a lot to get the body back to those bowling workloads, and we'll just see where we go and play it by ear." Even while on the periphery at Headingley, and over these last two days at Edgbaston, Overton has seemed very happy with his lot.

The regime's efforts to make their players' lives more enjoyable have included jaunts to the UAE ahead of series in Pakistan and India, and an extended stay in Queenstown on their last tour of New Zealand. Domestically, they play plenty of golf, of course, but the odd cameo coaching appearance has helped lift the mood too. Moeen Ali dropped in as a mentor on Monday and worked with Shoaib Bashir - "they'd never met until yesterday," Stokes revealed - before Lions head coach Andrew Flintoff graced Tuesday's training. A few used the afternoon after training to hit the course.

Much of the bonhomie throughout the match will come from, as Stokes says, mucking in. And there is also the carrot of working yourself into pole position for a berth at Lord's.

Given the third Test starts three days after this one is scheduled to finish, changes are likely with the pace attack of Chris Woakes, Josh Tongue and Brydon Carse already going back-to-back. Archer might not have to wait much longer for his return.

"Here he can come and bowl, he can help out the lads, he can get used to the environment again and when the opportunity does come, he is comfortable in it," Stokes said.

"This week being here, and building up to be in contention for next week, it is tight back-to-back games and having a few fresh bowlers to choose from. He was in contention to play this week and, unless anything goes wrong, I can't see why he won't be next week."