New Delhi: England skipper Ben Stokes is confident of shaking off a stiffness on his back to play in their second Test against New Zealand that begins in Wellington on Friday.
England defeated New Zealand in the first Test by eight wickets on Sunday though that victory got clouded due to Stokes’ injury scare.
While bowling to to Tim Southee at Hagley Oval, Stokes pulled up and couldn’t finish the over, tossing the ball to Guy Atkinson to bowl rest of the deliveries.
The skipper though stayed on the field and amidst concerns of his availability for the second Test, Stokes said that he stopped bowling as a precaution and would be available for the second game of the series.
“I twinged my back diving for a catch on day one and there’s a bit of stiffness,” he said after England chased down a 104-run target to win on the fourth day of the Christchurch Test.
“Where we were in the game it was ‘I don’t really need to do this and put myself at risk’. So yeah, it was more for caution than anything else and I’ll be fine for Wellington.”
Injury prone Stokes
Stokes’ career has been dogged by persistent injuries, leading to multiple surgeries. It has limited his bowling ability and forced him to pick and choose matches in which he rolls his arms over.
In Christchurch, Stokes bowled four overs at the beginning of fourth day’s action on Sunday’s and ad sto stop after three balls of his next over, finishing with figures of 0-30 off 6.3 overs in the New Zealand innings.
In the first innings, he had claimed 1-59 in 13 overs for a match total of 19.3 overs, which were the most number of balls Stokes delivered in a Test match since featuring against Pakistan in December 2022.
While bowling to to Tim Southee at Hagley Oval, Stokes pulled up and couldn’t finish the over, tossing the ball to Guy Atkinson to bowl rest of the deliveries. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
