England Test team captain Ben Stokes suffered a serious injury during a training session. A cricket ball hit him directly in the face, causing significant facial injuries.
Following the incident, Stokes himself shared a photo of his injuries on social media, which was quite shocking.
The picture showed Stokes’ right eye completely swollen, a cut on his cheek and lip, and a bandage on his nose. Although the injury looked serious, Stokes took it lightly and even added a humorous caption to his Instagram story.
He wrote, “You should see the state of the cricket ball,” along with a laughing emoji.
Stokes going through a tough time after Ashes defeat
This incident comes at a time when Ben Stokes is already going through a difficult period. In the recently concluded Ashes series, England suffered a crushing 4-1 defeat against Australia.
The team had high hopes for this tour, as England wanted to win the Ashes in Australia for the first time since 2010-11.
However, after losing the first three Tests, Australia secured the series. England only managed a win in the Boxing Day Test, while also losing the final Test. Stokes’ performance with the bat was also not impressive throughout the series.
He scored runs at an average of only 18.40 in 10 innings. However, he did make some impact with the ball, taking 15 wickets.
During this time, his captaincy also came under scrutiny. Veteran fast bowler James Anderson expressed surprise at Stokes’ statements on BBC Radio.
He said, “When I saw Stokes come out and say, the way (Josh) Tongue and (Brydon) Carse have just run in like consistently, I had a Roy Keane moment,” and further added, “I was like, that’s your job. If you’re not willing to run in all day for your team, don’t bother. You’re in the wrong sport.” ## Out of T20 World Cup, eyeing a return to Test cricket
Following the Ashes defeat, Stokes himself admitted that he made significant mistakes in his captaincy. Defending the team, he said, “We’ve dropped a lot of catches on this tour which have been very costly to the overall situation of the games.”
He also added, “I can never fault anyone’s commitment or energy… It’s just been down to the lack of execution.”
Currently, Ben Stokes is not part of England’s white-ball plans and will not be playing in the upcoming T20 World Cup. His return is expected in the Test series against New Zealand in June.
The England team now hopes that this return will not only mark his comeback to the field but also usher in a new and better era for the team.
