Former England Skipper Nasser Hussain wants the England red-ball skipper Ben Stokes to be honest about his bowling hopes ahead of the England team’s much-anticipated Summer Against Australia starting on June 16, at the Edgbaston Stadium.
The England Skipper has been battling with a left knee injury that has forced him to be on the bench for most of the matches of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) as he played only two games for his side, before leaving for England just before playoffs to kick start his preparation for the mouth-watering Ashes series.
In his Column for Dailymail, Nasser Hussain wants the England all-rounder to be honest about his bowling possibilities against the Baggy Green to play the role of the fourth seamer in the side and lauds him as the three-dimensional cricketer for England with captaincy to his name and revealed that England skipper has looked in bowling during the practice session and hopes him to play a vital role for his team in the first test.
“Stokes has to be honest. If he can’t bowl in a Test, he will have to tell England and they may have to then change the balance of the side. But that does become incredibly tricky because Stokes is two cricketers and with the captaincy, he is now three cricketers,” Nasser Hussain wrote in his column.
“He had looked as good in the outfield as I’ve seen him in a long time and I watched him bowl before play for about 20 minutes when he appeared pain-free. So my gut feeling is that he will perform at Edgbaston next week how he has done for some time now – Stokes will bowl when he has to,”
Ben Stokes would have less cricket behind him coming into the Ashes 2023, as he played only two games for Chennai Super Kings, and in the previous game against Ireland, he neither batted nor bowled in the two innings for England as the game was completed with three days.
Ben Stokes Did A Lot Of Fitness Work During The IPL To Get Ready For The Ashes – Nasser Hussain
Nasser Hussain divulged that Ben Stokes has worked a lot on his fitness during his stint with Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2023, to get him ready for the Ashes 2023 in home conditions and also pointed out his trouble in the knee, as he hobbled after landing awkwardly after taking the catch of Curtis Campher during England’s game against low-ranked Ireland
“Stokes did a lot of fitness work during the IPL to get ready for the Ashes and only playing in two matches in India appeared to have done him a favour.
“But it seems moving sideways creates the problem with his knee and the first concern on the third day at Lord’s came when he dived and then moved gingerly afterward. Then he got into that position while catching Curtis Campher that affected him,” Nasser Hussain said.
Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum will have a lot of things to discuss and decide in the forthcoming days as their lead spinner, Jack Leach has been ruled out for the entirety of the series owing to a stress fracture.