England captain Ben Stokes has expressed confidence in resuming his role as an all-rounder when the side begins its crucial Test summer through a four-day game against Zimbabwe, before the all-important five-match series against India takes centerstage. Stokes had been out of action since tearing his left hamstring during the final Test in New Zealand in December 2024. After undergoing surgery in January, Stokes is now all set to captain England when they host Zimbabwe in a four-day Test at Trent Bridge, starting on May 22. “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.
A previous injury in the same region, sustained while playing in The Hundred last August, had ruled out Stokes from three home Tests against Sri Lanka and one away game in Pakistan. Stokes also insisted that he was feeling fitter than he has ever been in his playing career.
“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.
Stokes signed off by revealing he’s been in talks with head coach Brendon McCullum about managing his fitness and rediscovering his best form in Tests. “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.”
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