Ben Stokes out for three months as injured England captain forced to undergo surgery | Cricket | Sport
England’s Test captain Ben Stokes faces a three-month hiatus from cricket after the ECB announced that he has torn his hamstring.
The revered all-rounder, recently at the helm of England securing a 2-1 series triumph over New Zealand – their first since 2008 – succumbed to the injury during a punishing 423-run loss in the series-decider.
Stokes’ setback emerged as he delivered his 13th over in the third Test – this came after an intensive day one effort where he bowled 23 overs in just three spells.
The 33-year-old felt the injury on the field and opted not to bat on day four. As England doesn’t face their next Test challenge until May when they meet Zimbabwe for a standalone match, Stokes’ recovery period is less critical for his red-ball commitments.
Preceding the injury confirmation, he had been excused from England’s ODI and T20 tour of India and overlooked for the 2025 Champions Trophy team.
An ECB statement detailed: “England Men’s Test captain Ben Stokes has been ruled out of all cricket for at least three months after further assessments confirmed he has torn his left hamstring.” It also revealed that Stokes is scheduled for surgery in January.
Discussing the crushing blow before learning about his forced step back from cricket, Stokes said: “Obviously, I was incredibly disappointed walking off. I was very emotional about the whole thing. You’re asking yourself: ‘Could I have done more? Should have done this, should have done that?’
“But you know, when you sleep on it, and you take the emotion out of it, you realise you’re always putting yourself at risk of an injury. I worked my arse off to get to where I was in this game in particularly with my body.
“It’s just sod’s law – the first time in a while I feel like I’m young again, something happens. I worked really hard to get myself into position to play the role that I did this game. It’s just one of those unfortunate things. But nah, I ain’t holding back.”
However, he took a more positive tone when assessing his team’s overall performance this year, with nine wins and eight losses from 17 Tests. He said: “We came here to beat a team who wherever they go in the world, are very competitive. We knew they were going to be full of confidence after their historic win in India.”
“To play the cricket that we did in the first two games was very, very pleasing. We came here this week with the same attitude, same mindset, that we always do in the first two games out here. We just didn’t play anywhere near our capabilities.
“It’s obviously disappointing to end the tour and the year with a loss. But what we came here to achieve, we managed to achieve. It’s no mean feat coming to New Zealand and beating them because they’re a very strong team in their home conditions.”
