Ben Stokes has stated that he is “very, very confident” that he will be able to contribute fully as an all-rounder in England’s Test matches this summer against India and Zimbabwe. After racing back from a similar injury last year, Stokes has been recuperating from a hamstring rupture for the past five months. He feels that he has managed his recuperation “a lot better” this time.
Although Ben Stokes was able to return to action in time for England’s Test series against Pakistan in October after suffering his initial injury during the Hundred last August, he experienced a recurrence two months later while bowling in New Zealand. Since then, he has approached his recuperation cautiously in preparation for this year’s historic series against Australia (away) and India (at home).
“I feel great,” Ben Stokes said to Nasser Hussain during a Sky Sports interview. “Playing and training are entirely different; no matter how hard you train, you can never match the level of intensity that a game puts on your body. Even while I am eager to return to the field, I am aware that it will be quite different from my training regimen.
“However, I want to resume playing on the pitch and attempting to do it on the biggest stage by [being] that fourth seamer, batting at No. 6, and trying to dominate every situation that I find myself in, whether I’m holding the bat or the ball. I am really confident in my ability to accomplish this, and I am aware that I have done it previously.”
Last year, Ben Stokes felt compelled to “fast-track” his comeback, and he later admitted that he had “ruined” himself in the process.
“This time around, the medical team and myself were like, ‘We’re just going to absolutely nail it this time,'” he stated. “The first two months in particular were a sluggish and drawn-out process. However, it hasn’t been nearly as demanding on the body or the mind.
He also disclosed that he and coach Brendon McCullum had talked about making sure he doesn’t overwork himself. “He’s going to support me more effectively and talk to me about that kind of thing a lot more. We’ve talked about that together. I don’t want to put myself in a position where I have to leave the pitch when I don’t have to because I’m 33.”
This year, England’s training philosophy has come under scrutiny, particularly during their white-ball tour of India. Although Ben Stokes praised his team’s “incredible” work ethic and said that he is annoyed by their reputation, their managing director, Rob Key, later claimed that England’s “own fault” was the perception of a laid-back, playful atmosphere.
“When you hear comments saying that we don’t train hard enough, we’re more bothered about golf, we don’t work hard enough, it’s just complete and utter [rubbish],” he stated. If you don’t have a strong work ethic, you won’t be able to play international sports for very long. The work ethic of every member of the white-ball and Test teams is astounding.
“Everything we do has a purpose because we believe it benefits the team and the players, but it also relieves some of the burden we already bear without making it worse. Everyone that walks out there with the three lions on their chest is already under enough stress, so we strive to relieve any further strain that may be placed on them.”
Following Jos Buttler’s departure following the Champions Trophy, Ben Stokes was briefly considered as a backup captain for England’s ODI team. However, he stated that it would not have made sense to add to his workload during such a busy year. “The decision that they’ve made there, of making Harry Brook [captain], is 100% the right one,” Stokes stated.
Although he has not formally retired from any format, he is not included in the white-ball squads for Brook’s opening matches against the West Indies. “If I do play more white-ball cricket for England, then great,” Stokes stated. “But if I don’t, then I’m going to sit back and watch the incredible talent that England has go and put on a show, and hopefully win more World Cups in the future.”
In preparation for their first Test match of the season against Zimbabwe on May 22, England has been practicing at Loughborough this week. “Zimbabwe have got some seriously experienced cricketers,” Stokes stated. “They’ll be desperate to come to England and turn us over, and what I can say is that I’m absolutely desperate for us to show that we are the better team on those four days.”
After the Zimbabwe Test, Stokes will play one of the England Lions’ games against India A as he gets ready for the June 20 commencement of the India series, despite the fact that he will not have had any meaningful middle practice going into that match. “Physically, it’s going to be tough, but mentally, throughout that whole series, it’s going to be a tough, draining series,” he stated. “It always is against India: five Test matches is incredibly hard.”
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