What Ben Stokes’ hamstring tear means for next year’s Ashes

It was a recurring sight in last year’s Ashes: Ben Stokes hammering a ball to the fence and then reeling away in pain from his battered left knee.

That degenerative problem made Stokes only the most occasional of bowlers, and often restricted his movement. At times, the pain also seemed to focus him, not least during a pivotal innings on the second day of the Leeds Test.

Ben Stokes suffered a hamstring injury in a Hundred game.Credit: Getty Images

Never, though, did the knee trouble force Stokes out of action in the middle of a match or series. His consistent presence on the field as captain of England has been a key part of the Bazball story, helping to marshal his men with sharp tactics and force of personality. Stokes has played 22 consecutive Tests as captain.

Now, however, an apparent hamstring tear in that same left leg has done what the knee problems could not. Stokes, 33, is almost certainly out of England’s next Test series at home to Sri Lanka, and the soft tissue injury raises a concerning new scenario for the team coached by Brendon McCullum before next year’s Ashes tour.

Having undergone major knee surgery at the end of last year, and then a gradual return to the bowling crease with his former vigour, Stokes was trying to set himself up to be a man for all seasons in Australia in 2025-26.

As the captain, heart of the middle order and also first or second change bowler, Stokes provides priceless balance to the England line-up, enabling the selection of an extra batter or spin bowler depending on conditions, much as Cameron Green has done for Pat Cummins’ Australia.

But after being called through for a quick single during a rare game in The Hundred for Northern Superchargers in Manchester, Stokes pulled up sharply, then fell to the ground while punching his thigh in frustration.

He then needed to be taken off the field by stretcher, and at the end of the game required crutches to be able to shake hands with opponents and teammates. In terms of mobility or lack thereof, Stokes’ struggles recalled nothing so much as the sight of a hobbled Nathan Lyon after blowing out his calf during the dramatic 2023 Lord’s Test.

Lyon, 36, took months to recover, and is now subject to a rigorous fitness regime to keep his calf limber – he also has his workload far more closely monitored than before. Another Australian in similar territory is Glenn Maxwell, 35, who now requires a specially tailored program after he broke his leg in a freak accident that cost him most of the summer of 2022-23.

This is all to say that as cricketers enter their mid-30s, a poorly timed major injury means more than just a lengthy recovery. It can also add to the complexity of sustaining their performances on the field, and create an additional mental barrier.

Ben Stokes battled his knee injury as well as Australia during last year’s Ashes.Credit: Reuters

Just ask Jonny Bairstow, victim of another freakish broken leg. He was not fully recovered when selected for last year’s Ashes, and struggled in the early exchanges as Australia took a 2-0 lead. While Bairstow improved as England did, he was nothing like the force of 2022, and has now lost his Test place. That process of devolution began by slipping over on the golf course.

Stokes, who battled his knee for a couple of years before giving in to surgery, was earnestly hoping to be good as new from hereon in, especially in terms of giving his all in every facet of the game in Australia.

“I know I’ve worked very hard to get myself into this condition,” Stokes said in January, having also lost eight to 10 kilograms to lessen the load on his knee.

“Hopefully, it is something that will give me a little bit longer as we’re getting to that point – I’m 32 now, and sport and everything like that isn’t here forever. I want to play for England as long as I possibly can. The older you get, the harder you work.”

So the enormous frustration evident on his face at Old Trafford was not just about that game, nor even the Sri Lanka Test series. It signified the realisation that at 33, Stokes may well have another extremely hard road ahead to be the sort of all-rounder England will need next summer.

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