England captain Ben Stokes is ready to have “serious conversations” about an operation on his troublesome left knee as he eyes one other tilt on the Ashes in 2025/26.
Stokes has been hampered by a power harm for the previous 12 months and has typically been in evident ache through the ongoing sequence in opposition to Australia.
The all-rounder had hoped to play a full half with bat and ball however the normally energetic swing bowler has been restricted to only 29 overs thus far this Ashes and didn’t bowl in any respect within the final two Tests.
READ | Stokes prepared to finish sequence on excessive after ‘emotionless’ draw
With batting and fielding additionally testing his bodily endurance, the 32-year-old accepts he can not go on in the identical method for much longer and nonetheless carry out on the highest degree.
But this week’s Ashes finale at The Oval — which the hosts should win to sq. the sequence at 2-2 — can be England’s final Test for six months earlier than a tour of India and that hole between red-ball matches may give Stokes time for an operation.
He had a cortisone injection forward of this 12 months’s Indian Premier League (IPL) to assist handle his signs and, requested on Wednesday on the eve of the Ashes finale, if he would now take into account surgical procedure as properly, Stokes replied: “Yeah, it’s something I obviously want to get sorted.
“The times I’ve seen specialists and stuff like that, there has been cricket around, so as it’s been manageable we’ve just cracked on.
“I was pretty broken after the Lord’s game (where his stunning 155 could not prevent Australia winning the second Test), but I still managed to walk out.
“I think this is a good time to have some serious conversations with medics around what I could potentially 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.”
‘Frustrating’
He added: “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.”
Holders Australia is already assured of retaining the Ashes at 2-1 up, no matter the results of this week’s match in London.
That means it will likely be at the very least a decade between England Ashes sequence wins, having final triumphed in 2015.
Stokes stated he would like to be concerned when England heads ‘Down Under’ for the following version.
“It’d be nice to go out to Australia in 2025 and have a good chance of winning,” he stated.
“How this series has gone and how close we were, it does make you think when we next go to Australia ‘do we have a better chance than the last few times?’
“The Ashes is such an important series for English and Australian cricket and it would be nice to say I’ve won it twice.”
Although Stokes has formally retired from one-day internationals, England would welcome him again for its 50-over World Cup title defence in India later this 12 months given how a lot he did to assist them carry the trophy on house soil 4 years in the past.
Stokes, nevertheless, dismissed discuss of an ODI return on the World Cup by saying: “I’m retired.”
He added: “I’m going on holiday after this game. That’s as far as I’m thinking. But there’s only so much ‘break’ you can cope with. You really do miss that environment, when you’re around the other lads. In two or three weeks I’ll probably get bored and just schedule a squad game or something like that.”
Source: sportstar.thehindu.com