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.”
Borthwick names unchanged starting England team for Australia clash
Steve Borthwick has named an unchanged starting team for England's match against Australia on Saturday with two changes on the bench.
England enter their second November Test looking to bounce back from their narrow 24-22 defeat to New Zealand last weekend.
Borthwick, however has elected to name the same group that started against the All Blacks, though Henry Slade will shift to inside centre, while Ollie Lawrence moves to outside centre.
Marcus Smith retains his place at fly-half while Jamie George continues to lead the side at hooker, but there is no place for Theo Dan or Ben Curry.
The pair are replaced by Luke Cowan-Dickie and Ollie Sleightholme as England move from a six-two split between forwards and backs to a five-three combination.
Hooker Cowan-Dickie will make his first England appearance since November 2022 if he is introduced off the bench.
“Facing Australia is always a massive challenge, and we’ll work diligently this week to ensure we’re physically and tactically prepared to take on the Wallabies,” said Borthwick.
“The passion and energy from the crowd at Allianz Stadium last weekend was absolutely brilliant, from the opening whistle to the final moments, and we can't wait to be back at home this Saturday."
England squad in full:
George Furbank, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, Ollie Lawrence, Henry Slade, Tommy Freeman, Marcus Smith, Ben Spencer; Ellis Genge, Jamie George (captain), Will Stuart, Maro Itoje, George Martin, Chandler Cunningham-South, Tom Curry, Ben Earl.
Replacements: Luke Cowan-Dickie, Fin Baxter, Dan Cole, Nick Isiekwe, Alex Dombrandt, Harry Randall, George Ford, Ollie Sleightholme
Dottin among nominees for ICC Women’s Player of the Month for October
West Indies all-rounder Deandra Dottin has been named among the three nominees for the ICC Women’s Player of the Month award for the month of October.
Dottin made her comeback for the national side at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in the UAE, and was a driving force as the islanders reached their first semi-final at the event since 2018.
She was instrumental in victories over Scotland and Bangladesh, but saved her most valuable contributions for the latter stages, where she shone with the bat, ball and in the field in their group stage win over England, before producing a memorable individual display with 33 runs and four wickets in the thrilling semi-final defeat to eventual champions New Zealand.
Dottin will be going up against New Zealand’s Amelia Kerr and South Africa’s Laura Wolvaardt for the award.
The nominees for the Men’s award are New Zealand’s Mitchell Santner, Pakistan’s Noman Ali and South Africa’s Kagiso Rabada.
Kevin Sinclair replaced by Junior Sinclair in Harpy Eagles Super50 squad after internal report to GCB
All-rounder Kevin Sinclair will take no further part in the Guyana Harpy Eagles CG United Super50 Cup campaign in Trinidad and Tobago. The decision made by the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) followed the submission of an internal report by the Harpy Eagles' management team that it was necessary to replace the player.
The GCB, in making the revelation, also announced that Kevin Sinclair will be replaced by Junior Sinclair in the squad at the tournament.
Though the GCB’s statement did not clarify if sub-standard performance is the reason behind Kevin Sinclair’s ejection from the squad, it pointed out that it was a “necessary squad adjustment.”
“Following an internal report from the Guyana Harpy Eagles management, it has been decided that Kevin Sinclair will no longer be participating in this year’s competition,” the statement read.
In the three matches played in the Super50 Cup, Kevin Sinclair tallied 14 runs and snared three wickets.
He made 14 from 16 balls against Windward Volcanoes and took 2-66 from 10 overs in the same match.
However, he did not bat in the rained-out contest against Combined Campuses and Colleges Marooners and was dismissed without a score against Barbados Pride and only took 1-26 from 10 overs in that same match.
The Guyana Harpy Eagles are winless after three matches.
A similar situation arose last year during the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) T20 tournament when organisers announced Kevin left the Guyana Amazon Warriors squad for “personal reasons.”
Kevin Sinclair’s departure opens the door for Junior Sinclair to take up a spot in the Harpy Eagles squad ahead of Tuesday’s contest against Leeward Islands Hurricanes at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy.
Guyana Harpy Eagles Squad: Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Matthew Nandu, Tevin Imlach (captain), Kevlon Anderson, Kemol Savory, Junior Sinclair, Keemo Paul (vice-captain), Ronaldo Aimohamed, Veerasammy Permaul, Isai Thorne, Ashmead Nedd, Nial Smith, Sylus Tyndall, Rampertab Ramnauth.
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