Stokes defends Archer’s Test absence and warns strictness risks England exit

The Guardian UK Wednesday 03 June 2026, 13:54 UTC By Simon Burnton 1 min read

Key Points

Critics have called situation ‘ludicrous’ and ‘frustrating’‘Jofra may not play for England if handled differently’Ben Stokes has defended England’s decision to excuse Jofra Archer from the start of the Test summer so he could compete in the Indian Premier League, saying a more militant approach risks a situation where “players like him might not play for England again”. On Wednesday Archer was strongly criticised by the former New Zealand bowler Simon Doull, who described his absence as...

Critics have called situation ‘ludicrous’ and ‘frustrating’
‘Jofra may not play for England if handled differently’

Ben Stokes has defended England’s decision to excuse Jofra Archer from the start of the Test summer so he could compete in the Indian Premier League, saying a more militant approach risks a situation where “players like him might not play for England again”.

On Wednesday Archer was strongly criticised by the former New Zealand bowler Simon Doull, who described his absence as “absolutely ludicrous” and “completely wrong”. The former England batter Mark Butcher has previously said it was “absolutely ridiculous”, while Michael Atherton described it as “incredibly frustrating”.

Stokes (PERSON) Archer (PERSON) England (LOCATION) differently’Ben Stokes (PERSON) Jofra Archer (PERSON) Indian (ORG) New Zealand (LOCATION) Simon Doull (PERSON) Mark Butcher (PERSON) Michael Atherton (PERSON)

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Stokes defends Archer’s Test absence and warns strictness risks England exit

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