England captain Ben Stokes has confirmed that his return to competitive cricket has been postponed until May due to complications from a cheekbone injury. The 34-year-old all-rounder, who was struck by a ball during a training session with Durham’s academy players in early February, underwent surgery a week later to repair the fractured cheekbone.
Stokes had originally planned to return during Durham’s County Championship opening game against Kent this Friday. However, the club is still awaiting final medical clearance from specialists. Durham’s head coach, Ryan Campbell, suggested that Stokes will probably not play until the matches against Worcestershire on May 8 and Kent at Beckenham on May 15.
If Stokes is unable to return before then, those games could represent his only red-ball action before England’s first Test of the summer against New Zealand, beginning June 4.
Campbell described the injury as a close call. “[The incident] could have been horrific. So, so much worse than you think. A couple of centimetres, a different angle, and it could have affected his eye. The ball was hit so hard. We are just lucky he got away with it,” he told the BBC.
Stokes has not played since England’s disappointing Ashes campaign, during which he was hindered by an adductor injury sustained in the penultimate Test in Sydney. Despite the series loss, Stokes remains England’s captain, with coach Brendon McCullum and managing director Rob Key retaining their roles.
Reflecting on his leadership, Stokes described the last few months as “the hardest period” of his tenure but expressed confidence in the current coaching regime.
“He has been training hard to be ready. He has a lot to prove. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know the Ashes didn’t go well, and he is a proud man who wants England to be the best team in the world. As a professional, he is working to get it right and be ready to go,” Campbell added.
In addition to his red-ball duties, Stokes intends to play in this summer’s One-Day Cup for Durham. While the competition runs concurrently with The Hundred—where county sides typically field second-string players—Stokes’ decision to opt out of the T20 tournament and his absence from England’s white-ball squad means the One-Day Cup will give him a chance to play limited-overs cricket ahead of the Test series.
Stokes has not played 50-over cricket since England’s 2023 World Cup campaign in India and has not featured in the One-Day Cup for Durham since 2014. Following the conclusion of the New Zealand Test series in late June, England will face Pakistan in a three-match Test series starting August 19.
–IANS
