Ahead of the ENG vs AUS 5th Test, England skipper Ben Stokes was seen bowling spin in the nets. Soon after, several reports emerged, stating that the all-rounder is planning to switch to spin bowling to prolong his Test career. However, Stokes now has cleared the air and reassured that he is not switching to spin bowling.
“Your body can let you down at times when you don’t want it to,” he said. “I’ll have a better think around what I want to do in terms of the role that everyone is used to seeing me play going forward, Stokes was quoted as saying to Telepgraph.
“It is [important to play as an all-rounder]. It’s something I’ve done since I was a kid. Wanting to be involved in the game is something that’s got the best out myself. And I said in Wellington after that game [in February], that it has been frustrating in the last couple of years not being able to have the same impact and play the same role that I have done for the last 10 years. So it’s obviously something that I want to be able to do and hopefully can get sorted. I keep forgetting that I’m ageing every day”, the England skipper added.
Stokes considering knee surgery to prolong career
Notably, Stokes has been suffering from chronic tendonitis in his knee for several years. The 32-year-old is seriously considering undergoing surgery for his persistent knee injury.
The all-rounder on Wednesday confirmed that he will not bowl in the fifth and final Test against Australia due to the injury.
Also Read: England Playing XI for 5th Test REVEALED
But despite the injury, Stokes remains determined to continue as an all-rounder and contribute towards country’s success. The 32-year-old said that he will have ‘serious’ conversations with medical staff regarding the injury and how to manage it.
“The time in which I’ve seen specialists and stuff like that there has been cricket around. So as it’s been manageable we’ve just cracked on. But I think that is a good time to have some serious conversations with medics around what is potentially something I could do to get a role in which I can bowl without having to worry about my knee. Those are conversations we will be able to have in that time off.”
Also Read: WATCH Mark Wood pull hilarious prank on Ben Stokes
The 34-year-old cricketer’s focus lies on leading the English cricket team on the highly anticipated Ashes tour Down Under in 2025-26. England has not secured an Ashes victory in a decade, and Stokes wants to spearhead the team’s quest for success against arch-rivals Australia.
“I mean obviously how this series has gone and how close we were it does make you think when we go to Australia do we have a better chance than the last few times we’ve been there,” he said. “Hopefully, it’d be nice to go out to Australia in 2025 and have a good chance of winning.
“I think the way in which Australians and England players speak about the Ashes it’s obviously the big one. Don’t get me wrong, the Ashes is such an important series for English and Australian cricket and it would be nice to say I’ve won it twice. There’s obviously a lot of cricket that’s played around the Ashes as well, but we’ll just see when 2025 comes around.”
The fifth Test of the Ashes 2023 will start on Thursday at The Oval. Australia is currently leading the series 1-2.
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