LONDON: Veteran James Anderson and fellow pacer Ollie Robinson have been ruled out of England’s one-off Test against Ireland, commencing June 1 at Lord’s. 

Both the pacers faced minor injuries in the County Championship and were not able to recover fully for the four-day Test against Ireland.

Although, they have been sidelined for the Lord’s Test against Ireland but will be ready to join the action for the paramount Ashes series, starting on June 16.

James Anderson faced a groin strain while playing for Lancashire against Somerset and Ollie Robinson had an Achilles tendon irritation while featuring for Sussex against Glamorgan in the County Championship.

England head coach Brendon McCullum believed that both, Anderson and Robinson, would be fit for Ashes while confirming their injuries.

“We’ve got a couple of niggles, so we’re just monitoring those at the moment. Every team that goes into a series has got a couple of little things that you need to work through, but we’re pretty confident we’ll have a good squad to be able to pick from,” he told Sky Sports.

For the first Ashes Test, I think [Anderson and Robinson] should be fit. They won’t be fit for this one against Ireland. We’ll just have to monitor it over this next sort of while, but we’ve got some great options right throughout the squad.”

Brendon McCullum also expressed his confidence in skipper Ben Stokes to return to bowling as England gear up for a busy summer.

“Stokesy is progressing well too. He looks really fit as well, looks in great order and has a big smile on his face. He is delighted to be back around the group and as our leader, having that sort of energy he brings is fantastic, so again we’ll monitor that and see what happens.

“I think he’ll bowl at some stage throughout the summer, yeah, no doubt. He is a world-class allrounder and if he is able to bowl, fantastic. If not, we’ll find a way,” McCullum added.

After playing Ireland in a four-day Test between June 1 to 4 against Ireland, England will embark on a five-Test Ashes series against Australia from June 16 to July 13.

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