Ben Stokes thinks he will be more fit than ever when he returned to a five -month layoff to direct England against Zimbabwe next week – but admitted that he will have to take care of his body at the start of nine crucial months for the side of the test.
The captain of England has not played any cricket since his heartbreak of the left hamstrings against New Zealand in Hamilton in December. At the time, he reacted with challenge, insisting on X that he had “so much left in this chariot”, and sign in a colorful way: “go to the field for F *** Some s *** up”.
Now, after a few “very good” discussions with head coach Brendon McCullum, Stokes has promised to listen to his body in a year in a year which includes a series defining the career with India and Australia.
In a large interview for Sky Sports with Nasser Hussain of Mail Sport, Stokes said: “It was one of my longest rehabilitation periods. My philosophy when I am injured is that I come back more fit than before. I will potentially be in the best possible form in which I went.
“But I am 33 years old, and I don’t want to expose myself to a situation where I am out of the field when I don’t have to be. I will have to use this moment when I will be back on the field to start my body again: I always want to play a full role as a bowling player.
“You need an injury to notice these things. Baz and I talked about it together and how he will help me better.
Ben Stokes thinks he will come back to test cricket in the best form possible after an injury
He underwent hamstrings against New Zealand last December which saw him miss five months
Stokes says he chatted with head coach Brendon McCullum to avoid injuries
The 33 -year -old man wants to remain a full -time launcher for England and train in Durham
Stokes, who led England to second in the test ranking, with 22 out of 35 wins since he and McCullum have joined forces in 2022, said that he was sometimes “ frustrated ” by the perception that players do not take cricket seriously – an exacerbated view during the recent White -Ball tour of India, where delighted Shastri and Kevin Peetesen interviewed Their work of work on television.
“When you hear comments as we do not train enough, or we are more embarrassed by golf, or that we do not work hard enough, it’s complete and absolute …”, he said. “You are not going to be an international sportsman for a long time if you have no work ethics. For people, especially who have played at this level, who say that we do not work hard enough – they know what it takes to be coherent.
With the first test against India from Headingley on June 20, Stokes called on his team to finish as strongly as they start, after losing the final match in their last five series of tests.
“We were guilty of diving towards the end of a series, whether by fatigue or something else,” he said. “The challenge is to stay at the same intensity physically and mentally.”
And he said that England had to take a “dominant” state of mind in Australia this winter: “I want to bring this urn back to the house. If I can bring the guys into a state of mind of each time we rock, we will try to dominate what is before us, then what will be, will be.
Stokes also revealed that Jofra Archer’s injury problems have raised fears that he cannot stop cricket. “He had a few horrible years,” he said. “I don’t know if a lot of people realize, but at some point, we didn’t really know if he was going to be able to play again. It was a real thing to think of someone this age.
“But we have to stage where we can think of putting his body in a place where he can play the longer format. I know he wants to play test cricket again.
Summer of Sky Sports cricket cover begins on May 22, with England V Zimbabwe in Trent Bridge