The much-hyped Ashes is set to commence on 16th June. All eyes would be on Ben Stokes who currently is nursing a knee injury. Ben Stokes didn’t bowl against Ireland in the one-off Test match which England won quite convincingly.
We can expect a cracker of a series as this time both sides are evenly matched. England would badly miss the services of Jofra Archer who was a force to reckon with in Ashes 2019. The management will have to manage the workload of Stuart Broad & James Anderson as the side can’t afford any more setbacks.
“Stokes Is Two Cricketers And With Captaincy, He is Now Three Cricketers..” – Nasser Hussain
Nasser Hussain wrote in his column at Daily Mail, in which he talks about how a key player Ben Stokes is, but still he needs to be truthful to his teammates. He stated:
“Ben Stokes has to be honest. If he can’t bowl in a Test, he will have to tell England and they may have to change the balance of the side. But that does become incredibly tricky because Stokes is two cricketers and with the captaincy, he is now three cricketers,” Nasser Hussain wrote in his column.
“He had looked good in the outfield as I’ve seen him in a long times and I watched him bowl before play for about 20 minutes when he appeared pain- free. So my gut feeling is that he will perform at Edgbaston next week how he has done for some time now- Stokes will bowl when he has to,” Hussain wrote.
Major Injuries In England Camp Ahead Of The Marquee Ashes
Ben Stokes himself is going through a knee injury, due to which he has to take cortisone injection, though he is positive that he is healing, there are still speculations about his fitness as he hasn’t bowl a single ball against Ireland in Test series.
Other Injuries dominating England camp are of Jack Leach who is ruled out of the series due to back stress injury. There are also questions on Jofra Archer returning back to the England camp.
Moreover, a number of England internationals, including Robinson, Saqib Mahmood and Jamie Overton have all spent time out of the game due to stress fractures in their back. Thus there are speculations going around the fitness concerns in the England camp. It is going to be tough and challenging for England going ahead The Marquee Ashes against their arch-rivals Australia, which are going to commence right after ICC WTC finals, from 16th June onwards.