Ben Stokes was left nursing a nasty facial injury after a freak accident during an England training session, with the Test captain revealing a badly bruised right eye and a bleeding nose after being struck flush by a cricket ball. Stokes shared the aftermath on Instagram, attempting to see the lighter side of the incident despite the visible damage.
“You should see the state of the cricket ball,” Stokes posted on Instagram.
Reports suggest Stokes was not batting when the incident occurred. He was standing nearby with teammates when the ball came from his blind side and hit him on the right side of the face. The incident comes at a time when Stokes is already recovering from an injury sustained during the Ashes series.
The 32-year-old is currently unavailable for England’s white-ball plans and will not take part in the upcoming T20 World Cup. His return to competitive cricket is expected during the home Test series against New Zealand in June, where he is set to rejoin the red-ball setup.
Stokes’ leadership under scanner
Stokes’ leadership has remained a talking point following England’s heavy 4-1 Ashes defeat to Australia. Former England fast bowler James Anderson publicly questioned the tone of Stokes’ comments after the series, particularly his praise of player effort despite the lopsided result.
“When I saw Stokes come out and say, the way (Josh) Tongue and (Brydon) Carse have just run in like consistently, I had a Roy Keane moment,” said Anderson on BBC Radio. “I was like, that’s your job. If you’re not willing to run in all day for your team, don’t bother. You’re in the wrong sport,” Anderson told BBC Radio.
Stokes addressed those criticisms during the press conference following the fifth Test, acknowledging England’s shortcomings while firmly defending his players’ commitment throughout the tour.
“We’ve dropped a lot of catches on this tour which have been very costly to the overall situation of the games. In terms up of stepping up, I can never fault anyone’s commitment or energy that they’ve given into this. We haven’t performed well, we know that, we hold our hands up to that. But no one should question the care and commitment to try and go out there and give it your absolute best. It’s just been down to the lack of execution,” Stokes said.