England all-rounder batsmen, Ben Stokes will be fit to bowl in this week's opening Test against New Zealand. Earlier, all-rounder Ben hopes of making a Test return suffered a major blow after he was ruled out of his side's two-day warm-up match against New Zealand XI due to a back injury.

The opening warm-up match would have been Stokes' first match since his last Test appearance against West Indies in September 2017, after which he was ruled out the Ashes series in the wake of his alleged involvement in a fight outside a City nightclub on September 25. However, Stokes seems to have recovered from that injury and is all set to train ahead of the opening Test, which is slated to be held on Thursday at the Eden Park in Auckland.

Commenting on Stokes' chances to play in the opening Test, an England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) spokesperson said, "His plan is to bowl tomorrow and on Wednesday outdoors. If he comes through, which he is expected to, he will bowl in the Auckland Test."

England: Joe Root(c), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Alastair Cook, Ben Foakes, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Craig Overton, Ben Stokes, Mark Stoneman, James Vince, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood, Jack Leach.

New Zealand: Kane Williamson(c), Todd Astle, Trent Boult, Colin de Grandhomme, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Henry Nicholls, Jeet Raval, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Neil Wagner, BJ Watling, Martin Guptill