Jofra Archer's hotly anticipated Test debut will be deferred at least until the second Test at Lord's, after he was omitted from the first Test against Australia at Edgbaston on Thursday to continue his rehabilitation from a side strain.
Though Archer was named in the 14-man squad for Edgbaston, he was always a long shot for selection, after admitting he had played through "excruciating" pain in helping England to win the World Cup with a haul of 20 wickets at 23.05, before sending down the decisive Super Over in the final against New Zealand at Lord's.
"Jofra is coming back from quite a serious injury," said England's captain, Joe Root. "We looked at conditions and made a decision on what we thought would best take 20 wickets here. It also gives him time to get absolutely ready and fit to make sure he has his workloads up and ready to go for later in the series if he needs to make an impact. [His fitness] will be monitored throughout the week. It's important that he's ready to go to offer something different."
Archer made his playing comeback in a T20 for Sussex last week, having had a brief break in his native Barbados to recover from the rigours of the World Cup. And to judge by England's struggles in their Test against Ireland, several of his team-mates might have benefitted from similar down-time.
Root, however, was adamant that an Ashes campaign was every bit as important as the tournament already gone.
"I think if you speak to anyone who has captained England and is on the verge of an Ashes series, to say it doesn't mean as much as any other event, I don't think any of them would agree," he said. "It's huge. It's a great opportunity. Cricket in this country is probably at an all-time high, it's got interest it probably hasn't had for a long time and we've got an opportunity as a team to make this summer a very memorable one. That's exciting, to be involved and have that carrot in front of us is a great motivator for the whole squad."
In Archer's absence, England's attack will be spearheaded by the old guard of Stuart Broad and James Anderson, whose record-breaking partnership was broken up briefly for last week's Ireland Test. Though Broad starred with four second-innings wickets as Ireland were bowled out for 38, Anderson missed the match to continue his recovery from a calf injury.
And, even though Anderson turned 37 on Tuesday, Root remains in no doubt about his enduring value to England's Test team, as he looks to build on his record tally of 575 wickets in what will be his eighth Ashes series.
"He's still someone that genuinely continues to improve," he said. "You just have to look at his numbers these last few years. Conditions have suited him but he's absolutely made the most of it. He probably had his best tour of Australia in the recent past, he continues to find ways of taking wickets and building pressure on any given surface, he continues to be a great leader of our attack. At 37, to keep improving is a great trait to have, great for English cricket."
Root confirmed England's XI for the Edgbaston Test on the eve of the match, but insisted that Archer would have a part to play in the series.
"I wouldn't have named it if I wasn't confident. We are very excited as a group," Root said. "We have a good record here as a team. It's very important that we are very focused and very clear on how we want to approach this series and that first day in particular. We feel confident this group of players is more than capable of winning this Test match.