Steve Harmison, a famous cricketer, is worried about England Test captain Ben Stokes’ health right now, especially since the Ashes are coming up soon. The all-rounder recently hurt his knee in the two-match Test series against New Zealand, so he can’t bowl for his IPL team, the Chennai Super Kings.
When it comes to the Ashes, England will have a tight schedule. The Three Lions will play five Test matches in 46 days, so Steve Harmison is worried that Stokes’ knee injury could hurt his chances of playing and that England might need a new leader in the middle.
Harmison talked about the same thing and said that wicketkeeper-batsman Ben Foakes could be a great leader for the group instead of Stokes. He also said that Ollie Pope is young and bats in a key spot, so he shouldn’t have to take on the role of leader.
“You have to be honest with yourself. Ben Stokes’ knee could give out on him at some point this summer. We’ve seen it happen in New Zealand, but we don’t know how it will go in the IPL. If it does, Rob Key and Brendon McCullum will have to decide what to do. Do you trust Ollie Pope, who has never done anything before?
“A young man was batting at number 3, which is a tough spot. Do they go back to Joe Root with a cap in hand and say, “Can you just get us to the end of the summer when Ben’s ready?” Ben Foakes would be another choice if something happened to Ben Stokes, and he might be the safest pair of hands. “I know we’re talking about whether or not Ben Foakes is on the team, but he has a huge calming effect on this group,” Steve Harmison told TalkSport.
With Bairstow on the team, can Foakes get into the starting lineup?
Since Jonny Bairstow is available, it’s not clear where Ben Foakes will fit in the team for the upcoming Ashes. But the stumper-batter isn’t worried about any of this right now. He thinks it’s just a distraction that he doesn’t need right now.
“Really, there’s no good reason for me to worry about that. I think the best way for me to deal with it is to not deal with it at all. I just try not to worry about it.
“It’s a distraction you don’t need, and if you think, ‘This might happen, so I have to do this or do more,’ it can mess up your thoughts. It keeps you from doing what you’re good at and makes your job harder. Foakes was quoted by The Mirror as saying, “I’m happy with how my life has turned out, so it’s a bit strange to be asked about my place.”
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