Ben Stokes commits to Ireland Test as England weigh up key players' IPL involvement

GEORGE DOBELL IN WELLINGTON: With the IPL final scheduled to be played in Ahmedabad on May 28 and the Test starting in London on June 1, it appears Stokes will be unavailable should Chennai Super Kings progress that far.

George Dobell | 22/02/2023 at 12:15

Ben Stokes is unlikely to be available for the IPL final having confirmed he will play in England's first Test of the home season.

Stokes was named captain of the Chennai Super Kings, having been bought for £1.62million in the recent auction.

But with the final scheduled to be played in Ahmedabad on May 28 and the Test starting in London on June 1, it appears he will be unavailable should CSK progress that far.

"I'll play the Ireland Test," Stokes said from Wellington on Wednesday. "I'll be making sure that I give myself enough time to get back and play that game."

CSK also learned in recent days that they will be without New Zealand pace bowling all-rounder Kyle Jamieson this year due to injury.

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^{Ben Stokes will play the Test match against Ireland in June [Getty Images]}

While England's limited-overs specialists are likely to remain at the IPL as long as required by their teams, the team management may have some tricky decisions to make over a couple of players. Jofra Archer, for example, has not played a first-class game since May 2021. It is likely he will be required to build up his workloads in red-ball cricket before he is recalled by the Test team.

The men’s Ashes start on June 16 and England may want some of their players to have a first-class match in the run-up to the series. One round of County Championship matches starts on May 18 and the next on June 11. It is possible some other players will also be required to play in that Ireland Test and will, as a result, be unavailable for the IPL final.

"It's a little bit early to say [who will play in the Ireland Test]," Stokes said. "I'll probably get around the individuals and ask them what they want to be ready for for the Ashes, because those five games are obviously the big one of the summer.

"You've got to think about what lads want but also about something happening in that game and losing someone for the Ashes. Obviously, the Ashes series is bigger than that game against Ireland."

Meanwhile, Stokes confirmed England would pick Jack Leach as a specialist spinner in Wellington despite a green look to the pitch.

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^{Stokes confirmed Jack Leach will play the second Test against New Zealand [Getty Images]}

In the current domestic season, the side winning the toss has bowled first on all occasions at the Basin Reserve, the location for the second Test, and the highest first innings score has been 225. In one game, Wellington were bowled out for 80 and 87. No side has reached 400 this season.

England delayed naming a full side to see how the three seamers who played in the first Test came through training. All trained on Wednesday, though all were understood to be a little stiff after their exertions in the first Test.

England are looking to wrap up their first series win in New Zealand in 15 years. Victory in Wellington would also give them six Test wins in succession for the first time since 2004.

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