England on Tuesday named their 15-man team for the One-Road Match against Ireland, which begins June 1 at Lord’s with Ben Stokes in the lead and Ollie Pope as vice-captain. England will be bolstered with the return of hitter Jonny Bairstow, who has been out of action since last August after a golfing accident left him with a broken left leg and dislocated ankle. With Bairstow back by his side, Ben Foakes was dropped from the team. Also missing is Jofra Archer after being ruled out for the rest of the summer due to a recurrence of a strain injury to his right elbow. Returning are fast pitchers Mark Wood and Chris Woakes, who are the latter returning to the Test team for the first time since March 2022 and if selected, it will be his first Test on home for the past two years. Another positive for England was the inclusion of James Anderson, who was injured while bowling on the opening day of Lancashire’s County clash with Somerset. The ECB has said it will assess his fitness ahead of the Ireland Exam and his inclusion is a good omen for the hosts. “We are looking forward to the summer ahead and kicking things off, starting with a good test against Ireland. Removing Ben Foakes from the team was a very difficult decision. He’s been outstanding for England this past year, but Jonny Bairstow is one of the best players in the world with his performances last summer being the epitome of us,” Rob said. Key, ECB Executive Director for Men’s British Cricket said. “It was an uncomfortable and unpleasant time for Jofra Archer. He was making good progress until an elbow injury recurred, which kept him out of action for a long time before that. We wish him luck with his recovery. I’m sure we’ll see Jofra back with his best games and win for England, whatever the format. Hopefully sooner rather than later. I wish the players every success, especially those returning from a long separation,” he said.