The England red-ball captain, Ben Stokes, who has been out of the ongoing three-match Test series against Sri Lanka, has been recovering well to make a comeback for their upcoming Pakistan and New Zealand trip in the winter. The all-rounder was practicing in Manchester last week and looked to be in good shape.
Ben Stokes tore his left hamstring two and a half weeks ago playing for the Northern Superchargers in the Hundred, and at that immediate point of time, it looked quite serious, but his practice session at Lord’s ahead of the second Test was a very positive sign for the England fans.
The ‘Three Lions’ side are due to arrive in Pakistan on October 02 ahead of the first game in Multan five days later. Last time during 2022, the veteran could bowl only 35 overs in the three games due to managing his knee injury, but returning to full fitness ahead of the trip will be a huge relief for the team.
Ben Stokes and Zak Crawley prepare to make comeback for Pakistan tour
In a recent video by the England Cricket Board (ECB), Ben Stokes expressed that he had been around the doctors and the medical team to give himself the best of chances to get ready for their upcoming assignment.
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“I‘m all good, just slowly progressing, It’s still very early days in the rehab period. I want to get back as quick as I possibly can, so being around the medical team here with physio and doctors, I thought that was going to give myself the best chance of getting back sooner rather than later.” The Durham all-rounder revealed.
The Test captain for the side in this Sri Lanka series, Ollie Pope, did his job with the captaincy hat in a decent way, but he looked a bit of shape with a risky shot in the fourth innings when the side was under pressure, losing a few early wickets in what could have been a tricky chase.
He believes that Stokes would be fresh with the break before going to Pakistan and New Zealand for the upcoming series.
“He’s still a fair while away from playing, and he’s not trying to play as a batter and a first slip – just yet, anyway. But it’s been great to see him.” Pope remarked. “Injuries are never ideal, but they’re also great chances for people to keep improving their game and have a little bit of time of reflection and think about what he can work on in his game.”
Along with Ben Stokes, England has also missed their prolific opening batter, Zak Crawley, for this Sri Lanka series, as the Kent batter broke his little finger during the final Test at Edgbaston against West Indies.
“It’s great to have those guys around. I know (Zak Crawley) is gutted he’s not here playing in these Test matches, but for him to pop in and catch up with the guys is great, and it shows where we’re at as a squad, and how we’re a tight-knit unit.” The Surrey batter shaded light.
Ben Stokes felt that Pope has been moving into his interim role quite brilliantly as he watched him working with the bowlers from the dressing room in Manchester.
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“I was pretty relaxed and pretty chilled. I thought I might be a little bit frantic. When you don’t have the emotion of being in the game, you do look at it from a different point of view.” The New Zealand-born shared.
England is due to play a three-match Test series against Pakistan in late Autumn and then a two-match series against New Zealand in the winter.