England Test captain Ben Stokes has undergone surgery following a serious incident during a net session, revealing he feels 'quite lucky' to be alive. The all-rounder suffered a broken cheekbone after being hit in the face by a cricket ball in February while coaching academy players at his domestic county side Durham. In an interview with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), the 34-year-old admitted the situation could have had far worse consequences.
'I copped one straight in the face,' Stokes said. 'Pretty nasty but, funnily, probably the best result of a bad situation, to be honest. Just a couple of inches one way or the other, I might not be here doing this interview, if I didn’t turn my head round. All things considered, although I had pretty major facial surgery to sort it out – it was a bit of a mess under here (cheekbone), I’ve got out quite lucky. So pretty thankful for that.'
Stokes noted that the incident set back his preparation for the start of the season with Durham by about a month, but he now plans to play in two first-class County Championship games next month before the Test summer begins. 'It was a pretty scary situation. Thankfully still here and everything’s all right,' he added.
Stokes is expected to be fit to lead England in the first Test of their home season against New Zealand at Lord’s starting on June 4, as the team looks to recover from their 4-1 Ashes humiliation in Australia. He also addressed reports of disagreements with head coach Brendon McCullum, downplaying the speculation while acknowledging different viewpoints at times.
'I am very confident in mine and Brendon’s ability to be able to work together, because we’ve done it for such a long period of time now,' Stokes stated. 'But we work together in a slightly different way. The main point of me and Brendon is our alignment towards winning things and making this team as good as they can be.' He mentioned that their ultra-aggressive 'Bazball' style, implemented since 2022, has come under scrutiny after the Ashes defeat, prompting the ECB to launch a thorough review into the team's preparations.
Source: www.aljazeera.com