England captain Joe Root says the return of Ben Stokes to the side is a "huge boost" ahead of their two-Test series against New Zealand, which gets underway live on Sky Sports Cricket from midnight (Thursday 12am GMT).
The Durham all-rounder was unavailable for most of the winter having waited to hear until the New Year to hear he would be charged with affray following an altercation outside a Bristol nightclub last September.
With a court date now set for August 6, Stokes has been cleared to play red-ball cricket against the Black Caps and Root is delighted to have a player of his ability available who can turn a game with bat, ball and in the field.
"You get three players with Ben, and certainly on his day probably the best three players within the side all in one," Root said ahead of the opening day-night Test in Auckland, live on Sky Sports.
"It is a huge boost to have him coming back into the team. We have to be quite careful and make sure he is absolutely ready and be quite flexible with how we use him, especially in the first Test.
"He's very focused on what he needs to do. Credit to him, he's been able to manage that really well."
After losing the Ashes series in Australia 4-0, England recovered to beat New Zealand 3-2 in an intriguing one-day series and Root is hoping for similar success in the Test arena.
"It has been a tough winter until now, but we have two Test matches to put a different stamp on it and change our momentum," he added.
"It is a big series for us coming from a big defeat like the Ashes, so we need to make sure we put that right and come away with some success overseas - because it's not happened for a while."
New Zealand, meanwhile, have already named their team for the first Test, with star batsman Ross Taylor overcoming a thigh injury to be included in the starting XI.
Leg-spinning allrounder Todd Astle has been recalled to the team for his third test, and first since 2016, replacing the injured Mitchell Santner, while wicketkeeper B.J. Watling returns to the line-up after overcoming a hip injury.
"Ross has been playing beautifully well every time he's walked to the crease," New Zealand captain Kane Williamson said of Taylor's return. "Just the calmness, the confidence and its reflected in how much success he's had this year, but probably every other year as well."
One of the biggest questions ahead of the day-night opening Test in Auckland is how the pink ball will perform in New Zealand conditions, but Williamson said it would be important for bowlers to concentrate on basics and not to expect unusual assistance.
"There is probably a danger of over-complicating some of the finer parts of the pink ball game," Williamson added. "[The ball has] shown different characteristics within those [eight previous day-night] tests and at different stages with different conditions of the ball.
"It's hard to look into too much but you do want to adapt and think on your feet."
New Zealand: Kane Williamson (c), Tom Latham, Jeet Raval, Ross Taylor, Henry Nicholls, BJ Watling (wkt), Colin de Grandhomme, Todd Astle, Tim Southee, Neil Wagner, Trent Boult
England (possible): Joe Root (c), Alastair Cook, Mark Stoneman, James Vince, Dawid Malan, Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow (wkt), Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Stuart Broad, James Anderson
Watch the opening Test between New Zealand and England. Day one coverage begins at midnight (Thursday 12am GMT) on Sky Sports Cricket and Sky Sports Main Event.