England guarded over Stokes bowling in Test comeback

England were guarded over whether injury-hit Ben Stokes would bowl against New Zealand when he makes his Test comeback from suspension tomorrow.

Speaking on Wednesday, ahead of the first day-night Test to be held in New Zealand, captain Joe Root said the all-rounder would "play a part" but would not discuss what role he would fill.

"There's still stuff that needs to come out of today to be very sure of that," Root said, when asked whether Stokes, 26, had recovered sufficiently from a back strain to bowl normally.

"But I'm quite happy that Ben will play a part in the game."
"It's reflected in how much success he's had this year. It's important for us as a team that he's there."
- 'Definitely some unknowns' -
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"There's heaps of different stats but there's still unknowns. The sample size of pink-ball cricket is fairly small but it's important that you adapt as a change of conditions may happen coming into different stages of the day."