The English cricket team is looking for redemption in the coming ashes series in December, and the injury boost in the form of Ben Stokes has boosted their morale as well. The allrounder had taken an indefinite break from the game, after sustaining a finger injury. Emphasizing the point of mental wellbeing, the player had made himself unavailable at the start of India’s tour of England, and remained unavailable for the world cup too. Simultaneously, Stokes had 2 surgeries for his injury and initially was not a part of Chris Silverwood’s squad for the Ashes series. It was at the last moment the announcement was made by the ECB that Stokes will indeed be a part of the squad for the Ashes series which is due to begin on December the 8th.
According to reports of Reuters, speaking about Ben Stokes’ inclusion English Captain Joe Root said, “Obviously it’s a massive news. Speak to anyone within the game whether they’d prefer to have Ben in their team or not, and everyone would say they would.” He further added that since Stokes has been out of touch for a long time, it will be wrong to expect too much of him. He (Stokes) should be given the requisite breathing space and time to return to his full potential the world is aware of.
The Australian team retained the prestigious trophy on their previous trip to England in 2019. The five tests series ended at 2-2. The English team according to their captain is inspired by the Indian performance in last summer at GABA and will be hoping to walk away from the series with a win.
