England said there are no injury concerns around the quick bowler and he was fit for selection
It was always unlikely that Anderson, the third-highest Test wicket-taker, would play all five Tests in a tight schedule and he himself has previously said three of the matches might be realistic.
Anderson missed the majority of the 2019 Ashes with a calf injury he sustained in the opening Test at Edgbaston which left England a bowler short in a match they went onto lose and there were questions raised as to whether he would be able to return.
But since then he has taken 57 wickets in 17 Tests and played in all of the matches against New Zealand and India in the last home summer.
“Jimmy is fit to play, and is not carrying an injury,” an ECB statement said. “With five Tests in six weeks the plan was to get him ready for the second Test in Adelaide.
“With the limited build-up we have had so far on the tour, both him and the management didn’t want to take the risk of him playing after what had happened in 2019 at Edgbaston, when he broke down on the first morning.
“He bowled at full capavity yesterday for just short of an hour and was in a good place physically. He will do the same again today at practice.
“He will stay with the Test group this week and work with the coaches at the Gabba rather than playing for the Lions.”
“We always know that when he gets into that game he’ll want to but his mark on it,” captain Joe Root said of Stokes. “Yes, there’ll be an element of managing expectations and you’ve got to trust his experience and our whole bowling group collectively that we can work together to take those wickets. I’m sure Ben will have a big say in that. It’s something we’ll definitely be trying to get right throughout the whole series.”