The England Test captain and their premier all-rounder, Ben Stokes, has been ruled out of the next three months of cricket with a recurrence of his torn left hamstring during the third and final Test of the recent series against New Zealand at the Seddon Park in Hamilton. He, however, has vowed to have ‘blood, sweat, and tears left for another comeback in the side.
Ben Stokes was forced to leave the field, during the third day of the Test and couldn’t bat in the fourth innings, which England went on to lose by 423 runs. He pulled up after the second ball of the 56th over of the Blackcaps’ second innings, which was his 13th and third of the morning. The veteran was quick to realize the pain in his left thigh after delivering the bouncer that Rachin Ravindra pulled for a boundary.
It’s the same hamstring that the Durham all-rounder tore in August while batting for the Northern Superchargers in the men’s Hundred against the Manchester Originals at Old Trafford. The recurrence of the injury was confirmed by the England Cricket Board (ECB) on Monday afternoon.
Ben Stokes was ruled out for three months with the return of a hamstring injury
The extent of Ben Stokes’ injury was signaled during the squad announcement for the side for their three ODIs in India in February and the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025 in Pakistan, as he was omitted from both the squad despite his red-ball head coach, Brendon McCullum taking charge of the white-ball sides. The left-handed batter has not been part of the 50-over format since the ODI World Cup last year in India.
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The 36.2 overs in Hamilton were the most the Canterbury-born has bowled in a five-day format since 40 at the Trent Bridge against the opposition in 2022. On the very first day, he managed 23 overs in a single day, as the division was made with spells of eight, eight, and seven. It’s worth mentioning that the fragile batting line-up to be bundled out for 143 meant that the touring pacers got a break of only 34.5 overs after 97.1 overs in the first innings.
The touring side then was kept in the park for another 101. overs, as eventually, the Tom Latham-led side ended with 453 on the board. The series has brought seven dismissals for Ben Stokes in 66.1 overs at an average of nearly 37. His batting average was over 50 in the four innings he batted, which has been welcome news for the Three Lions.
“I have to work so much harder on the physical side of the job to allow me to go out and do my job, but I got a good amount of overs in during the last two games, and I am more confident about getting through a lot of spells in a day.” The 33-year-old was optimistic about being in a good place with a better understanding of his body.
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“That is where I got to before I pulled my hamstring. I bowled nice in the summer and had a setback, but now (I) feel out of that and not worrying about anything else happening again. As you get older, you think about your body a bit more, but I work harder because I have to.” Ben Stokes expressed before the Hamilton Test.
The all-rounder will now miss the entire SA20, where he had a deal with the MI Cape Town for a lucrative £800,000 price, as he will try his best to be back in the side for their next Test against Zimbabwe on May 22. Another five home Tests against India will follow that before their all-important Ashes trip.