England rest Stokes and Archer

BEN Stokes and Jofra Archer have been rested for England’s Test series in Sri Lanka next month, ushering in a packed new year touring schedule that could see captain Joe Root missing key players at every stage.

England are preparing to spend three unbroken months in Asia, leaving on January 2 for two Tests in Galle before heading directly to India for a 12-match, three-format trip.

The scale of that challenge has made it all but impossible to keep the show on the road with the same core group involved throughout and plans are now in place to increase the emphasis on squad rotation.

As an unavoidable result of that policy, it means England may not be able to send out an entirely full-strength side at any point on their forthcoming travels.

Stokes, who lost his father Ged to brain cancer just a few days ago, and key paceman Archer had already been excused from duty for the aborted one-day matches against South Africa and have once again been stood down for the Sri Lanka trip.

They will return to the fray for the high-profile visit to India but England have made it clear others will be in line for a break.

Players with extensive red and white-ball commitments will be given time off in the exhaustive itinerary, with management set to rest some for the start of the series and others in the gap between double-headers in Chennai and Ahmedabad,

Moving players in and out of the country during a series is an unorthodox approach, but one that appears increasingly sensible given the seemingly endless demands on the national side.