England captain Ben Stokes believes the selectors made the right decision to leave Jofra Archer out of their squad for the first Test against New Zealand.

Archer was omitted from the squad after being allowed to play for Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League play-offs last month.

The fast bowler has taken 60 wickets for England in 18 Tests at an average of 30.1 and a strike rate of 60.3.

During England's disappointing Ashes tour at the end of 2025, Archer took nine wickets across three matches, including one five-wicket haul, at an average of 27.11.

Nevertheless, Ollie Robinson has earned a recall in Archer's absence, with the first of three Tests getting underway on Thursday at Lord's.

Stokes insisted the right calls were made by the selectors and stressed that Archer still has a future with the red-ball side.

"I know it has been spoken about in the last couple of weeks. I totally understand people's frustrations around the situation, but there is also another side to it," Stokes said.

England Men's Test Squad... Assemble!  pic.twitter.com/parORljnZf

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) June 2, 2026

"A lot of it has got to do with the landscape of cricket and where it is at the moment.

"I think a lot of the points people have been making about Jofra in that situation are to do with the landscape when they were playing. It is completely different now.

"There is an opportunity for cricketers now that there wasn't 10 or 20 years ago.

"In an ideal situation, it would be unbelievably great to have everyone available at every single opportunity – but that is not the way of cricket at the moment.

"There is a situation in which it could get messy and players like Jofra might not play for England again if you handle it in a different way, and that is not good for anyone.

"Jofra has shown he is committed and loves playing for England. Just because he is not available for this first Test match, it does not change that."