England all-rounder ben stokes He has won many games for the Three Lions with the bat since taking over as captain of the red-ball team. Stokes has rarely been found bowling in Test cricket due to his knee injury for which he underwent surgery in November last year. Stokes has since been in rehabilitation and is reluctant to bowl in international games.
Before the third test match against India, ben stokes He did a short 20-minute bowling practice in Rajkot, according to ESPNCricinfo. While speaking at the pre-match press conference, Stokes revealed that he will not be bowling in the rest of the series and has promised this to his physiotherapist. Summing up, he stated that he is gaining confidence after every match from the time he bowled in his last Test match.
Ben Stokes predicts return to Test bowling
Ben Stokes said: “No, I won’t bowl in this series yet. I have promised my physiotherapist that I will not relax to bowl even if everything feels good because that would be a risk that is not worth it. It’s good. Little and often now. I’ve managed to improve since I bowled in the last Test match… just growing more confident.”
Videos were shared on social media of Ben Stokes bowling in the nets ahead of the Visakhapatnam Test and there was speculation that Stokes would end his 8-month exile of not bowling in Tests. Stokes last played during the second Test match against Australia during the 2023 Ashes in July.
However, Ben Stokes has been decent as a batsman in the ongoing IND vs ENG Test series so far. Stokes top-scored during the first innings of the first Test in Hyderabad and has been scoring runs with a more attacking approach. Stokes has also been excellent with the captaincy so far and has almost made the right decisions in both matches so far.
England have played significantly better than cricket experts predicted before the series. The English team has played against the Indian spinners much better than what was thought before the series.
An example is Ollie Pope, who scored 196 runs in the second innings of the first Test and turned the game around from there. England recorded a notable victory as they were in a losing situation, but it was Tom Hartley who showed a brilliant bowling performance in the second innings, which helped the visitors win the match.
Another important point to highlight in the series so far is the behavior of the pitch. While many cricket experts had thought of more curvy tracks in India ahead of the series, the playing surfaces have behaved more oppositely. The pitches in Hyderabad and Vizag had equal help for batsmen, spinners and pacers, so both games lasted 4 days, which was longer than the expected duration of a Test match in India.
The third Test will begin on February 15 and the Indian team will want to continue their winning momentum.
