England’s Ben Stokes will undergo knee surgery after the World Cup in a bid cure his longstanding fitness problems and prolong his career.
Concerns over the Test captain’s left knee have increased over the last 18 months and he has not bowled in a match since July, his body unable to cope with the rigours of bowling.
Stokes suggested he was considering an operation after this summer’s Ashes series, which he laboured through in visible discomfort, but instead chose to come out of ODI retirement and take part in England’s title defence in India.
He missed the first three games of the campaign with a left hip injury, which has not explicitly been linked to his existing problems and, with England set to bow out after the group stages, Stokes has agreed to go under the knife.
He will see renowned knee surgeon Andy Williams – who counts Stokes’ team-mate Chris Woakes, former England captain Andrew Flintoff and a host of Premier League footballers among his previous clients – later this month.
Stokes hopes to be ready to lead England’s Test tour of India, which starts in Hyderabad on January 25 following a two-week training camp in Dubai.
Speaking on the eve of his side’s clash with Ashes rivals Australia in Ahmedabad, he said: “I am having surgery after the World Cup. There was a lot of time put into deciding when to get it done.
“It’s been a long time coming and obviously I want to get back to what I’ve been doing prior to the 18 months where I’ve had this injury. It’s been a big hindrance on me and affected what I can do for the team.
“Obviously that’s what I want to be doing. You’d hope that it means that I can get back to doing what I’ve been known for, which is playing a role as a batter and playing a role as a bowler as well.
“We’ll just see how everything goes, see how I respond to the surgery and all the rehab as well.”
Stokes had a flare up during the short tour of New Zealand in February and struggled to get match fit for Chennai Super Kings during the IPL. He subsequently played all five Ashes Tests but did not bowl in the last three.
He has spoken several times of his frustrations at not being able to impact the game with the ball and is eager to reclaim his status as an all-action all-rounder.
Stokes has never revealed the precise diagnosis of his knee injury, but chronic tendonitis is thought to be possible.
“When we go to those meetings we generally take a physio and doctor and they start talking, using language I’ve never heard before,” Stokes added. “I just turn up, go to sleep, wake up and hope it is better.
“I’ll switch off and let Andy Williams, the surgeon, do what he does best which is fix knees.”
He was more forthcoming about his use of an inhaler during training sessions in India, revealing it was down to “exercise induced asthma” and not directly linked to high pollution levels in the country.
Turning his attention to matters at hand, Stokes had a blunt assessment of England’s dire showing at the World Cup – a competition which drew him back in after a year away from ODIs – but has not lived up to expectations.
“I think the problem is that we’ve been crap, to be honest with you,” he said.
“We’ve had a disastrous World Cup and there’s no point sugarcoating that because it’s the truth. We have been crap. Everything we’ve tried throughout this World Cup, it’s just not worked.
“We know that as individuals and as a team, I think that’s where it is as a team, we’ve been nowhere near good enough to be able to compete in a World Cup.
“I think the biggest thing that we’ve got to play for is the pride of what it is to put the three lions on your chest.
“England and Australia in any sport, whenever the two nations come together and play against each other, it’s always a big occasion.”
Charles, Powell star as Delhi Bulls hammer Chennai Braves by 65 runs in Abu Dhabi T10 League
Johnson Charles and Rovman Powell both played starring roles to help the Delhi Bulls get their second win in as many games in the 2023 Abu Dhabi T10 League on Friday with a 65-run triumph over the Chennai Braves at the Zayed Cricket Stadium.
Charles made a 21-ball 40 opening the batting including four fours and two sixes while skipper Powell, batting at five, hit 35 off just 15 balls including one four and four sixes to help the Bulls post an intimidating 126-6 off their 10 overs after being put in to bat.
Englishman James Vince also showed good form with 37 off 14 balls. Obed McCoy and Junaid Siddique had identical figures of 2-18 from two overs.
Chennai’s chase then came up significantly short, being bowled out for just 61 in 8.5 overs.
Only Mohammad Nabi was able to crack double figures with 25 as Fazalhaq Farooqi (2-8 from two overs), Muhammad Rohid (2-14 from two overs), Naveen-ul-Haq (2-22 from two overs) and Ravi Bopara (2-4 from five balls) combined to produce an excellent display of bowling.
With goal of being best all-rounder in the world, Matthew Forde says CPL is ‘foundation to my success’
Matthew Forde was 20 years old when he first appeared for a CPL franchise. Having had success in age group cricket he was someone who was of interest to CPL teams, but it was a conversation with Pedro Collins that started his CPL career. Forde had been coached by Collins for a while. They lived very close to each other, and Collins would regularly give Forde a lift to and from training.
On one of those journeys the conversation turned to CPL cricket. Forde told Collins that he did not currently have a team. Collins is part of the Saint Lucia Kings set up and he called Daren Sammy, the Kings head coach, while Forde was in the car. Forde was encouraged to send videos of him in action to Sammy and by the time he was dropped off Sammy had called back to say, “I want this youngster.”
That conversation led to Forde making his CPL debut during the 2022 season, and while he didn’t bowl in his first match, he was entrusted with the new ball for his home debut against Guyana Amazon Warriors. Forde says his response to being asked if he wanted this responsibility so early in his career was to tell Sammy, “You asking a dog if he want a bone”.
Forde was determined to make the most of that opportunity. While sat on a drinks cooler waiting for his home debut he made it clear to his team mate, Rivaldo Clarke, that he was not going to miss his chance. He said: “Rivaldo boy, I don't know about you, but I know when I get my chance and I come off of this cooler, I'm not coming back on this cooler.”
Forde has not had to sit on the side lines since, with the latest milestone being his call up for the West Indies ODI team who are taking on England in December. His coach for that series will be Daren Sammy, and Forde has said that his relationship with the Kings and West Indies head coach has been foundational to his career.
“I think he has been, if not the backbone, he has been the main guy for me in terms of giving me that opportunity and trusting me, believing in me. I started opening with the new ball for the Kings and he trusted me. I just kept performing until he built that trust in me,” Forde said.
For Forde, the CPL has been the building block for his career progression since making that breakthrough in 2022. “I think CPL was the foundation. CPL really started it all because without CPL then the rest of the world wouldn't see me. CPL was my first major tournament. So, for me that's like CPL was the foundation. And I will always say the Kings will always be at my heart.”
Going forward, Forde wants to develop all elements of his game. He has two half centuries in topflight cricket, one as an overseas player at the Lanka Premier League and another in the recently concluded Super 50 tournament where he presented the West Indies academy side. He says developing his batting and becoming a true all-rounder is where he wants his game end up.
“My goal is to be to be the number one all-rounder in the world and to put West Indies cricket back to where it needs to be at the top. So, for me and a couple of the younger guys like me, we work really hard in in terms of fitness, the mental side of the game, theory, whatever it be. We are always working because we know what we want to achieve, and we know the goals that we have set and planned out as a collective group.”
Top seeds England could face Scotland and Wales as teams await Euro 2024 draw
England, Scotland and Wales could be paired together in Saturday’s Euro 2024 finals draw.
The Elbphilharmonie concert hall in Hamburg will host the draw ceremony, which gets under way at 5pm UK time.
Gareth Southgate’s England, runners-up at Euro 2020, will be one of the favourites to win the tournament, with in-form Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham set to be the shining light in a strong line-up.
Their performances in qualifying, where they topped Group C ahead of reigning European champions Italy, have earned them a place among the top seeds for the draw in what could be Southgate’s final bow as England boss.
His contract will be up next December and his future beyond that is uncertain.
Scotland are in Pot Three, while Wales are one of the 12 play-off hopefuls occupying three spots in Pot Four.
Rob Page’s side still have two big hurdles to overcome in order to join England and Scotland at the finals. They must first beat Finland on March 21 then also see off Poland or Estonia on March 26 to book their passage to Germany.
Page said at the time of the play-off draw on November 23: “The form we’re in at the minute and with the ‘Red Wall’ at home, we’ll take anyone on in Cardiff.
“It’s a great opportunity for us: we’re two wins at home away from another qualification to a major tournament. We’re hoping now for two big efforts.”
The placing of England, Scotland and Wales in different pots keeps open the possibility of them all being drawn together.
England faced Scotland in the group stage of Euro 2020 and Wales at the same stage at last year’s World Cup in Qatar. England and Wales also met at the group stage in Euro 2016.
From an England perspective, a ‘Group of Death’ would arguably include Denmark, the highest-ranked side in Pot Two, and the Netherlands or Croatia from Pot Three.
A rematch with Italy would round out a tough-looking pool for Southgate’s men, with the Azzurri alongside Wales in Pot Four.
Southgate, speaking after England’s final qualifier away to North Macedonia, said: “There looks like being really strong teams in Pot Two and Pot Three looks like it could be very strong.
“In the Euros we had Croatia in with us, who proved to be one of the best teams in the world over the last few years, and we managed to navigate that, so we’ve just got to be ready for whatever comes our way.”
Scotland were extremely impressive in qualification, finishing runners-up to Spain in Group A and booking their place in Germany with two matches to spare.
“It’s always nice to qualify for a major tournament,” Clarke said after last month’s final qualifier at home to Norway.
“Obviously the last one was Covid-restricted so we missed that connection and that feel with the fans.
“It’s great for everyone in the country that we have something to look forward to next summer.”
Pot One also contains last year’s World Cup finalists France, a Portugal team who won all 10 of their qualifying matches and a vulnerable-looking host nation Germany, who sacked their coach Hansi Flick in September following a 4-1 friendly defeat to Japan.
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