2 min readJun 3, 2026 10:36 PM IST England captain Ben Stokes said that Jofra Archer is committed to the national team despite the pacer missing the first Test vs New Zealand after wrapping up his Indian Premier League commitments for Rajastha Royals on May 29. On Tuesday, England coach Brendon McCullum also cast doubt on Archer’s availability for the second test, which starts June 17, saying he is having “a little bit of a break at the moment” and needs to be assessed. Due to his unavailability, Archer has faced scrutiny from many experts but skipper Stokes said that it’s a sign of the times with the proliferation of franchise leagues around the world. “A lot of the points that people would be making around Jof and that situation I think are to do with the landscape back when they were playing. It’s completely different now. There’s opportunities for cricketers now that there wasn’t 10, 15, 20 years ago. Yes, in an ideal situation, it would be unbelievably great to have everyone who you …