England are in the midst of a fast bowling injury crisis, with eight seamers currently sidelined with fitness problems.
Jofra Archer, who had been working towards a comeback this summer after having two operations on his right elbow, has suffered a major setback after he was ruled out for the entire season with a stress fracture of the back. Archer is the third England seamer to be ruled out with stress fracture of the back this month, after recent Test debutants Saqib Mahmood and Matt Fisher.
Mahmood suffered a lumbar stress fracture after featuring in just one County Championship match for Lancashire this season and will miss the entire summer. Fisher, meanwhile, was initially sidelined for four weeks with what Yorkshire coach Ottis Gibson described as "not a stress fracture, a stress reaction".
However, that diagnosis has since changed and Yorkshire have confirmed the 24-year-old "will require a longer period off the field". Olly Stone and Sam Curran are two other bowlers who are also recovering from stress fractures of the back.
Stone has not played a competitive match since June last year after suffering his fourth stress fracture in just five years. The 28-year-old has gradually been working his way back to full fitness and has begun featuring for Warwickshire's second XI.
Curran, meanwhile, has played primarily as a batter for Surrey as he continues his recovery from a stress fracture that he sustained during last year's IPL. He has been out action for six months and bowled just 17 overs in four appearances for his county.
Mark Wood, Chris Woakes and Ollie Robinson were also unavailable for selection for the first Test against New Zealand next month due to a variety of fitness problems. Wood picked up an elbow injury during the recent tour of the West Indies which required surgery, but England are hopeful he will be ready to return to Test cricket for the one-off match against India in July.
Woakes, meanwhile, has not played since the final Test against the West Indies in March, having struggled with shoulder and knee problems after a busy winter saw him send down 182.3 overs. And after missing the entire West Indies series after suffering a back spasm, Robinson has been limited to just two appearances for Sussex so far this season due to a serious tooth abscess and food poisoning.
As a result, the veteran duo of James Anderson and Stuart Broad look set to share the new ball once again when England take on New Zealand at Lord's, with Craig Overton and the uncapped Matty Potts providing support.
When asked about England's injury crisis, Anderson suggested it was simply "unfortunate". He said: "It happens, it's quite strange quite a few are happening at the same time, but it's just the nature of bowling.
"I don't think there's anything in particular behind it, I just think it's an unfortunate period of time." However, former England quick Steve Harmison believes the bowlers are just not bowling enough overs.
"They don't bowl enough, it's as simple as that," he told the 'Following On: County Cricketer' podcast. "The one thing that gets you fit and strong and consistent from an action point of view is bowling."
