Brendon McCullum 'hopeful' of Archer's availability for second NZ Test

England are "hopeful" that Jofra Archer will be available for the second Test of their series against New Zealand after a post-IPL break, but head coach Brendon McCullum has warned that he is not a guaranteed pick in any case.

Due to the short turnaround after his IPL commitments with Rajasthan Royals, Archer was deemed "unavailable" for the first Test at Lord's. However, he has been increasing his workload at home in Barbados in preparation for the second and third Tests. After England's victory at Lord's, McCullum stated that Archer's availability would be determined "in the next couple of days."

"We're hopeful he will be available for the second Test; then we'll work out conditions-wise where we're at," McCullum said. "He's following a plan. We completely trust Jof.

He's shown us in the past what he does, which is get himself ready based on the plans we get together and come up with. He has always shown up in the way we wanted him to."

In contrast, Mohammed Siraj was selected to play for India against Afghanistan despite England's decision not to select him due to his heavy workload during the Indian Premier League. Matt Henry and Kyle Jamieson, two IPL seamers, were part of the New Zealand team at Lord's. However, they had only played five matches between them, and Henry had back spasms on day one.

Even if Archer is available for the second Test on June 17, McCullum hinted that, depending on the conditions at The Oval, he might not be selected. Gus Atkinson, Ollie Robinson and Josh Tongue shared 19 wickets in England's low-scoring win at Lord's, while McCullum also praised the two seamers who did not play in Sonny Baker and Matthew Fisher.

Since making his comeback against India last summer, Archer has taken 18 wickets at a rate of 27.88 in five Tests, including a five-wicket haul against Australia in Adelaide in December. However, he has not participated in a red-ball match since, and McCullum stated that England are attempting to develop "a battery of fast bowlers" as opposed to relying solely on one bowler.

McCullum stated, "We need a huge variety of fast bowlers [to choose from] based on the conditions you think you'll be confronted with." "You're not always going to get it right, but you're trying to pick horses for courses, based on conditions, to give yourself the best chance of winning."

On an up-and-down Lord's pitch that could not have suited England's three main seam bowlers much better, Ben Stokes only bowled seven overs in the match, and Shoaib Bashir was not used.

McCullum stated that they were "brilliant" in both innings and suggested that England are beginning to develop speed bowler depth and competition. "Sonny Baker was close, as well," he said. "We thought if air-speed was going to be important and the pitch was going to be flat, he would be a viable option. Fish [Fisher] has been bowling beautifully, then you've got Jofra and Brydon Carse [who has not played since breaking his hand at the IPL in March].

"Then you've got a multitude of players who are developing through the county system and through the Lions who are on our radar. Eddie Jack, [Henry] Crocombe, and Nav Sharma are examples of exciting talent. All of these people have been identified and are in the system. "Now, we've just got to make sure we're upskilling them so if the opportunity arises in the years to come, they're ready to step in and perform. When you have a lot of fast bowlers to call on, it's a good place to be."

After posting career-best figures of 7 for 77 on his Test comeback, Robinson was named player of the match. McCullum and Stokes both challenged Robinson to replicate his performance throughout the remainder of the series. "The pleasing thing for me as captain… is the way that he's spoken about this week," Stokes said. "It would be very easy to rest on your laurels when everything has gone so well for him, but the language he has used about this being just the beginning, there is a lot more hard work to put in [is great]. It would be very easy to rest on your laurels." The more Ollie Robinson has an England shirt on his back, the better it is for us."

McCullum said that Robinson had a "brilliant Test match" on a pitch that "suited him perfectly" but cautioned that conditions will not always be in his favour: "He will definitely be challenged [more] in different conditions. The good thing was, on this surface, air-speed wasn't overly important; it was the ability to be relentless on the line and length, which is such a natural thing for Robbo."