On the eve of the Lord’s Test, England skipper Ben Stokes sent a warning to India, saying that there will not be any fixed plans for Jofra Archer upon his Test return and the speedster won't be limited to just short bursts.

Archer is set to make his red-ball return for England after a gap of four years as he replaces Josh Tongue in the lineup for the third match of the five-Test series.

Archer was included in the squad for the Edgbaston Test, but didn’t feature in the playing XI as he was working his way back to full fitness.

Addressing the media on Wednesday (July 9), Stokes said that a call on Jofra’s spells could be made in the moment, like any other bowler.

"That’ll be a call made in the moment, as it is with anyone. If someone’s looking dangerous, you might give them an extra over or two. But there are no set plans or restrictions — certainly not limiting him to four or five-over spells. We’ll see how it plays out on the day," Stokes told reporters.

"It is really exciting. I think it's great for English fans, but also for Jofra. It's been a long time coming for him. I think the way in which he's handled the injury setbacks over that period, it's been very commendable. And then the way in which he's got himself back onto the field and playing cricket over a long period of time now," he added.

Stokes further stated that Archer will be proud himself for the way he has bounced back after battling multiple injury scares in the last four years.

"It was exciting to have him back in the squad and in contention for last week, but now that we can say he's in the playing 11, it is very exciting for the group, but also, I think it's a pretty great day and I think Jofra is gonna be pretty proud of himself that he's managed to get himself back here after two pretty big injury scares," said Stokes.

Jofra Archer’s last Test appearance was back in February 2021, incidentally against India. There was, however, no place for Gus Atkinson, who was added to the England squad after the loss at Edgbaston. Archer has featured in 13 Tests so far, claiming 42 wickets at an average of 31.04.

England’s playing XI for Lord's Test: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (C), Jamie Smith (WK), Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer and Shoaib Bashir.