Injury concerns have always been hanging around the neck of Ben Stokes, who performs the role of all-rounder for England. His presence and the ability to perform the role diligently add a new dimension to the England side and balance out their lineup. Last December, Stokes injured his hamstring and was ruled out of the final Test between New Zealand and England. However, the English red-ball skipper is confident about his fitness for the upcoming home summer, where England host Zimbabwe for a Test match, followed by a five-match Test series against England.
“I feel great. Training and playing are completely different. No matter what you do at training, you cannot replicate the intensity your body is put through in a game. As excited as I am to get back on the field, I do know it’s going to be different to my training.
“But in terms of my role as a player, that full seamer, batting at six, trying to dominate every situation I find myself, whether I’ve got a bat or ball in my hand, is what I want to get back doing out on the field, on the biggest stage. I know I’ve done it before, it’s something I’ve very confident in myself I can do,” said Stokes to Sky Sports on Thursday.
“I always work hard. My ethos when I’m injured is I come back fitter than I was before I got injured. I’ve worked incredibly hard on all aspects of everything, from my cricket to fitness, and know I’m going to be in a position when I am back on the field to potentially be in physically the best possible shape I have been in,” he added.
Speaking off his conversations with , Stokes said, “I am 33, I don’t want to expose myself to a situation where I am off the field when I don’t have to be.”
“I talk to Baz a lot about many different things, we’ve spoken about this kind of stuff and how he’s going to help me better, how he’s going to speak to me a lot more about this stuff. We’ve worked together for so long, we know each other inside out and those discussions we’ve had over the last couple of months have been very good.”
