Praising the England Test captain Ben Stokes for his hands-on approach for the team, Former pacer Stuart Broad said the all-rounder is committed to lead his team in the forthcoming Test series against Sri Lanka, despite being injured.
Stokes, who will not be playing against Sri Lanka in the series, got injured while playing for the Northern Superchargers in The Hundred 2024.
In Stokes’ absence, vice-captain Ollie Pope has stepped up to take charge of the team.
Speaking to British news agency PA, Broad shared that Stokes has expressed his decision for staying engaged with his team in terms of preparation and strategies.
“He’s already texted me saying he’s going to be the coach so I don’t know what Baz [Brendon McCullum] is going to be doing," Broad told.
Broad continued by adding that the left-handed batter is determined to remain involved regardless of his severe injury.
“He's someone who likes to bat, likes to bowl. Ultimately you probably up your injury risk if you’re not playing any sort of intensity cricket. You can’t not play any cricket from the end of the West Indies series through to the start of the Sri Lanka series because your body will then be in the field the first day of Sri Lanka going ‘what are you doing, what’s going on?'" he said.
Meanwhile, the Three Lions are in great spirits after conquering all three fixtures in their recent series against the West Indies. This achievement has motivated England’s team to improve their position in the World Test Championship rankings.
Nevertheless, the team faced pressure at start against India, earlier this year and Australia, at Ashes 2023.
Despite the setback, Broad added a period to his statement by saying that Stokes’ absence has provided England with an opportunity to learn playing in a situation that can be encountered by the team in future.
“There’s not much you can do about a hamstring really. It’s not as if he landed awkwardly or anything, he was just in deceleration mode. It’s a real shame for the Test-match team because he looked so fit. He’s worked so hard on his fitness," Broad remarked.
"But to use that old sporting saying of ‘take the positives’, it actually gives England the chance to play against Sri Lanka with a make-up of team without Ben Stokes, that they are going to have to trial at some stage.
"Stokesy hasn’t been able to bowl for a year-and-a-half but has been playing as a batter. What happens the night before Brisbane in 18 months’ time if Stokesy’s not very well?" the former pacer concluded.
- Ben Stokes
