Ben Stokes suffered a hamstring tear during the Test against New Zealand and underwent surgery earlier in the year. It kept the cricketer out of action for five months and is now ready to stage a comeback in the one-off Test against Zimbabwe.
Ben Stokes underwent a hamstring surgery and is currently in rehab to gain full fitness. The all-rounder suffered from the same in 2024, but he eventually rushed to get back to the field, and that deteriorated his hamstring, ruling him out for five months. However, the England captain believes that he has handled it much better this time around and expects to perform in full capacity in the upcoming one-off Test against Zimbabwe.
Stokes noted that he is feeling good and is confident, but reflected that training and playing are completely different, as there’s a shift in intensity. He further mentioned that there won’t be any change in his role against Zimbabwe as the cricketer wants to play as the fourth seamer and bat at number six.
“I feel great. Training and playing are completely different: no matter what you do at training, you just cannot replicate the intensity that your body is put through in a game… As excited as I am to get back on the field, I do know that it is going to be completely different to what I’ve been doing in my training,” Stokes told Nasser Hussain in an interview for Sky Sports.
“But in terms of my role as a player, [being] that fourth seamer, batting at No. 6, and trying to dominate every situation that I find myself in, whether I’ve got the bat in my hand or the ball in my hand, is what I want to get back into doing out on the field, and trying to do it on the biggest stage. I know I’ve done it before, and it’s something that I’m very, very confident in myself that I can do,” he added.
During the conversation, Stokes also shared having a detailed chat with head coach Brendon McCullum about not rushing into things. He highlighted the importance of trusting the process and focusing on each day to determine his fitness.
