Follow UsAfter the fifth Test at The Oval, England doesn’t play a Test series until 25 January 2024, giving England captain Ben Stokes ample time to see a specialist who could help him to sort out the persistent knee issues. While stating that, the all-rounder also confirmed that he wouldn’t return to the ODI setup for the upcoming World Cup in India.
Stokes insisted that the break gives him a good time to have some ‘serious conversations’ with the medics, with the possibility of finding an ideal solution where there wouldn’t be too many future issues with his knee.
“The time in which I’ve seen specialists and stuff like that there has been cricket around, so as it’s been manageable we’ve just cracked on,” Stokes said in the pre-match press conference.
“But I think this is a good time to have some serious conversations with medics around what I could potentially do [so] I can bowl without having to worry about my knee. Those are conversations we will be able to have in that time off.”
Stokes’ impact as an all-rounder has reduced massively over the last three years, with the Durham man struggling with his knee, which even had him ruled out of multiple Indian Premier League (IPL) games for Chennai Super Kings. Stokes insisted that it is quite frustrating not to have such an impact on the game as he used to before.
Since the second Test, the all-rounder has not bowled a single delivery, and the addition of Mark Wood and Chris Woakes really has allowed the all-rounder to take some time off. Stokes also confirmed that he wouldn’t bowl in the upcoming Test at The Oval despite England still trailing 1-2 in the series.
“It’s something I’ve done since I was a kid,” he said. “Wanting to be involved with the game is something that’s got the best out of myself. It’s been frustrating in the last couple of years not being able to have the same impact and play the same role that I have done for the last 10 years. So it’s something that I want to be able to do, and hopefully can get sorted – but I keep forgetting that I’m ageing every day.”
James Anderson’s form in this series has been dismal, and the right-arm swing-bowler only picked up four wickets, averaging 76.75. Whilst there were reports that Anderson could call it a quit after the four Tests, Anderson earlier reaffirmed that he wouldn’t call it quits. Stokes chipped in, stating that Anderson is quite ‘relentless’.
“He’s not been bowling badly, he’s just not got the rewards he’s deserved. We know what Jimmy does. He ties an end up, even though that’s not his main priority, just because he’s so relentless with his line and lengths, and I just feel he’s been unlucky. He’s still bowled like Jimmy Anderson, he’s just not had the rewards we normally see him get.”
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