England captain Ben Stokes is on track to recover for the upcoming tour of Pakistan. England travel to Pakistan in October and then play a series of Test matches against New Zealand to close the year.
England will play at least eight more Test matches between now and the end of the year. Stokes has unfortunately been ruled out for the summer after tearing his hamstring two-and-a-half weeks ago while playing for Northern Superchargers in the Hundred.
He was ruled out for the rest of the summer but has been with the England squad during their current series against Sri Lanka and has been batting in the nets at Lord’s ahead of Thursday’s second Test.
England will arrive in Pakistan on October 2 for the Test series which begins on October 7 with the first Test in Multan. They have previously won a Test series against Pakistan in 2022, with Ben Stokes bowling 35 overs in the series. Getting back to full fitness ahead of this tour would be a significant boost to their chances.
Read also: England starting XI announced for second Test against Sri Lanka, Mark Wood ruled out
Slowly progressing: Ben Stokes
On Tuesday, Stokes provided an update on his fitness, which the ECB posted on its official Twitter account.
“I’m fine, I’m just progressing slowly. It’s still very early in the rehabilitation period… I want to come back as quickly as possible, so being close to the medical team here, with physiotherapists and doctors, I thought that would give me the best chance of coming back sooner rather than later,” he said in an ECB video.
Ollie Pope, who is leading England in the Test series against Sri Lanka, said Stokes will be “as fresh as anyone” ahead of their winter tours to Pakistan and New Zealand.
“Obviously he’s still got quite a bit of playing time left and he’s not trying to play as a batsman and opener, at least not yet. But it’s been great to see. Injuries are never ideal, but they’re also great opportunities for people to keep improving their game and have a bit of time to reflect and think about what they can improve. I’m sure that’s exactly what he’s doing in the nets. Going into that series against Pakistan and then New Zealand, he’ll be as fresh as anyone.”
Alongside Stokes, Zak Crawley is also aiming to return to the England Test squad for the series against Pakistan. He was ruled out of the Test series with a broken finger. However, he visited his England teammates on Tuesday with his broken little finger.
Meanwhile, ahead of the second Test match against Sri Lanka, Mark Wood was ruled out due to a thigh injury. This allowed Ollie Stone to return to the England Test team after three years.
“Obviously he’s been through a tough time and has injuries which unfortunately happen to fast bowlers, especially when they’re bowling at speeds up to 90mph. I’m really excited for Olly to get the chance to pull that jersey back on.”
“I know how hard he’s worked and I know how hard it is to be injured for such a long period of time,” Pope said of Wood and his prayers for his speedy recovery.
Also Read: Ben Stokes to emerge as biggest turncoat of ICC Champions Trophy 2025; ECB to involve Joe Root too
