Jonny Bairstow has returned to the England Test squad as wicketkeeper in place of Ben Foakes, but Jofra Archer has been ruled out for the summer.

Fast bowler Archer has a recurrence of the stress fracture in his right elbow.

James Anderson is named in the 15-man squad despite suffering a groin injury whilst playing for Lancashire.

The four-day Test against the Irish at Lord’s is England’s final preparation for the Ashes series against Australia, which begins on 16 June.

England squad: Ben Stokes (Durham captain), James Anderson (Lancashire), Jonny Bairstow (Yorkshire), Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), Harry Brook (Yorkshire), Zak Crawley (Kent), Ben Duckett (Nottinghamshire), Dan Lawrence (Essex), Jack Leach (Somerset), Ollie Pope (Surrey), Matthew Potts (Durham), Ollie Robinson (Sussex), Joe Root (Yorkshire), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire), Mark Wood (Durham).

Anderson is joined by Stuart Broad, Ollie Robinson and Matthew Potts in the fast-bowling department, while Mark Wood provides a high-pace option after missing the 1-1 draw in New Zealand.

There is also a recall for Chris Woakes, who last played a Test in March of last year and is yet to feature since captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum took charge.

Batter Ollie Pope has officially been confirmed as Stokes’ vice-captain after leading England in warm-up matches over the winter. His elevation is significant, given Stokes’ recent trouble with a long-standing knee complaint.

Surrey’s Foakes, 30, can consider himself unfortunate. Regularly labelled by Stokes as “the best wicketkeeper in the world”, he has been a regular for England in their run of 10 wins from their past 12 matches.

However, after Bairstow suffered his freak injury slipping on a golf course, his replacement Harry Brook enjoyed a stellar start to his Test career, with four hundreds in six matches.

That left England with a dilemma of how to accommodate the returning Bairstow, who himself smashed six centuries in 2022 before suffering the injury.

Any suggesting of re-jigging the batter order was always unlikely – some even advocated Stokes as opener – leaving a straight choice between Bairstow and Foakes.

Bairstow, 33, has kept in 49 of his 89 Tests and will take his place behind the stumps for the first time since September 2021.

“It was a seriously tough decision to leave Ben Foakes out of the squad. He has been excellent for England in the last year, but Jonny Bairstow is one of the best players in the world whose performances last summer epitomised what we are about,” said England director of cricket Rob Key.

The new elbow injury is the latest setback for 28-year-old Archer, who has not played a Test since February 2021.

After a string of back and elbow problems, Archer returned to play white-ball cricket for England earlier this year.

However, he made an early return from his spell with Indian Premier League side Mumbai Indians after suffering further discomfort in his elbow and a scan has revealed the stress fracture.

He will spend time recovering with medical teams from England and his county Sussex, but there must now be huge doubts over whether Archer will ever add to his 13 Test caps.

“It has been a frustrating and upsetting period for Jofra Archer,” said Key.

“He was making good progress until a recurrence of the elbow injury, which kept him out for an extended period previously.

“We wish him the best of luck with his recovery. I’m sure we will see Jofra back to his best and winning games for England, whatever the format. Hopefully, sooner rather than later.”