Ben Stokes revealed he has a “plan” to try to resolve a longstanding problem with his left knee and get back to being a fully fledged all-rounder once the Cricket World Cup has finished.
England’s Test captain said at the end of the Ashes “serious conversations” would be had about the issue that restricted him to bowling 29 overs in the drawn series and none in the last three matches.
He has since reversed his ODI retirement for England’s bid to retain their World Cup crown – having been so influential to their 2019 success – and will travel to India next month as a specialist batter.
Once England’s involvement is over in mid-November, Stokes will turn his attention to his ailing limb and attempt to recover in plenty of time for the five-match Test tour of India, starting on January 25.
However, while Stokes is upbeat about his prognosis, he stopped short of divulging whether an operation is required or if the specialists he has seen have recommended an alternative course of action.
“I’ve had some good conversations with specialists in different fields around rehab and a plan going forward after the World Cup,” Stokes said.
“There will be potential of something happening after the World Cup. There will be a time I make clear what’s going on, but I don’t think now is the right time to do that, with everything we have got coming up.”
He added to the BBC: “There’s actually quite a long time off after the World Cup. It’s nice knowing after the World Cup we’ve got something, a really good plan we can do and we can stick to.
“I want to be playing next summer as a genuine all-rounder. This winter is all about playing this World Cup then getting this knee sorted.”
Stokes, who is set for his first ODI in 14 months as England take on New Zealand at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff on Friday, admitted he was “exhausted, tired (and) had a lot of naps” after a gruelling Ashes.
A schedule of five Tests in six and a half weeks stretched Stokes to the limit but after a trip away with his family, he confessed the pull of the World Cup was the deciding factor in his ODI comeback.
Player of the match in the 2019 final, Stokes, whose unbeaten fifty secured T20 World Cup glory last November, insisted he felt no pressure to return from captain Jos Buttler or head coach Matthew Mott.
“It’s been a conversation that’s been ongoing with Jos and Motty. We kept it pretty internal and just had catch-ups along the road,” Stokes said. “It wasn’t a case of forcing me into coming.
“I said, ‘I’m available if you want to select me’. It was nice having that communication, but no push from Jos or Mott. It was nice to know they wanted to pick me even though I probably won’t bowl a ball.
“Going into this one as world champions, playing a part in that in 2019, that was an unbelievable moment for us as a team and myself. The idea of going in and potentially being able to win back-to-back World Cups was one of the big things.”
Stokes anticipates he will slot in at number four in the batting order, one position higher than he is accustomed to and in a spot the now-retired Eoin Morgan occupied for the majority of his tenure.
England are set for their first ODI against the Black Caps since the dramatic 2019 World Cup final at Lord’s – the teams will also contest this year’s tournament opener in Ahmedabad on October 5.
As for their chances this time around, Stokes was in a bullish mood as he added: “It’s not arrogant for us to say that we’re a very good team.
“We like our chances but the thing about World Cups is who can handle the pressure the best on any given day. The teams who can handle the emotional side of the sport is something that should never be overlooked.”
Bayern star Kane scores 400th senior goal
Harry Kane surpassed the 400-goal mark for his senior career as his double helped Bayern Munich beat Eintracht Frankfurt 2-1 at the Allianz Arena on Saturday.
Kane moved within one of the milestone as he put Bayern 1-0 up after just nine minutes, coolly finishing from close range after Konrad Laimer's pass had set him up.
Then, after Frankfurt levelled through Hugo Ekitike, Kane slotted home a penalty with typical aplomb following a foul on Thomas Muller to move himself onto 400 career goals and ultimately lead Bayern to victory.
Kane scored 280 of his goals in 435 appearances for Tottenham, overtaking Jimmy Greaves to become the club's all-time leading scorer when he netted for the 267th time in Spurs colours against Manchester City last February.
His tally of 213 Premier League goals, meanwhile, puts him just 47 behind the competition's all-time leader Alan Shearer, who scored 260 times for Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United.
Kane is also the most prolific player in England's history, his 62 goals for the Three Lions coming in 89 international appearances.
He memorably missed the chance to surpass Wayne Rooney's previous record of 53 when he blazed a penalty over the crossbar in the Three Lions' quarter-final defeat to France at the 2022 World Cup, only to clinch his place in history in a Euro 2024 qualifier against Italy three months later.
The very first goal of Kane's senior career came in League One during a loan spell with Leyton Orient as they thrashed Sheffield Wednesday 4-0 in January 2011.
That was the first of five goals Kane scored in O's colours, while he also netted nine times in a loan spell with Millwall in 2011-12 and twice during a stint with Leicester City the following season.
IPL: Fraser-McGurk leads the way as Capitals hold off Mumbai
Delhi Capitals withstood Mumbai Indian’s late surge and held on for a 10-run victory at Arun Jaitley Stadium.
Jake Fraser-McGurk top-scored with 84 – hitting 50 off just 15 balls – while Tristan Stubbs (48) and Shai Hope (41) also chipped in with important contributions as the Capitals set a target of 258.
Mukesh Kumar (3/59) and Rasikh Salam (3/34) did their best to halt Mumbai’s revival, but they turned up the pressure to require 25 runs from the final over.
However, despite Luke Wood and Piyush Chawla’s best efforts, Delhi held out for a second successive win.
Data debrief
Wood almost made amends after conceding 68 runs during the opening innings – the joint-most in the IPL this season, matching Reece Topley’s tally against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Tilak Varma led Mumbai’s attempted revival with 63 for his sixth half-century in the IPL, though they have all come in defeats
Chase outdone by opposite number Paudel as West Indies A suffer four-wicket loss to Nepal
West Indies A’s tour of Nepal got off to an unfortunate start, after they suffered a four-wicket loss to their host in a high scoring opening fixture of their five-match Twenty20 series at the Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground in Kirtipur, on Saturday.
Set a formidable 204 by West Indies A, Nepal’s thrilling victory, which was set up by a captain’s knock from Rohit Paudel, etched their names in the history books, as they successfully got to their target at 206-6 with two balls to spare.
Paudel smashed a 54-ball 112, including 10 fours and two sixes to see his team to a 1-0 lead in the series, which West Indies Head coach Darren Sammy said offers his team a chance to define roles and personnel more clearly for their ICC Men’s T20 World Cup squad.
However, the Caribbean side’s all-round effort was found wanting, as only captain Roston Chase (74), Alick Athanaze (47) and Keacy Carty (38) offered any resistance with the bat, while only Obed McCoy (2-34) and Matthew Forde (2-49) had some semblance of success with the ball.
Scores: West Indies A 204-5 (20 overs); Nepal 206-6 (19.4 overs)
Asked to take first strike, after losing the toss, West Indies A suffered an early blow, as they lost Johnson Charles (zero) off the last ball of the opening over, with 16 runs on the board. Andre Fletcher (13) stuck two sixes off five balls, before he too departed via the run-out route, leaving West Indies A at 43-2 in the fourth over.
However, Athanaze went about business, striking three sixes and five fours in a 25-ball knock, as he put on 43 for the third wicket with Chase, prior to his demise. From there, Chase and Carty added another 60 runs in a fourth-wicket stand that defined the innings.
Carty’s 38 off 26 balls, included two fours and three sixes, while Chase, who anchored the innings with a captain’s knock, struck nine fours and two sixes in his 46-ball 74. Kadeem Alleyne, on 14, and Keemo Paul, one, were left not out.
No Nepal bowler took more than one wicket.
With runs on the board, West Indies A would have felt confident of wrapping up a win, even more so, after Forde and McCoy combined to remove openers Anil Sah (five) and Kushal Bhurtel (16) to have Nepal at 38-2 in the fifth over.
West Indies remained in the ascendancy when Fletcher and Charles combined to run out Kushal Malla (16), leaving their host on the ropes at 82-3 at the halfway mark.
However, Paudel showed class, in not only reviving his team’s innings, but pushed them all the way with some aggressive stroke play, assisted by wayward bowling from West Indies A attack at times. Dipendra Singh Airee (24) offered support to his captain in getting Nepal across the line for a famous victory.
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