The extent of Stokes’ injury was flagged earlier this week when it was confirmed he had been omitted from England’s 15-man squad for the Champions Trophy in February. The ECB said he had not been considered on medical grounds, having not played for England’s ODI team since their elimination from the 50-over World Cup in India in November 2023.
https://x.com/benstokes38/status/1871285781014384858?t=7Qa38mWmGlfzMg59w36i8A&s=19
Stokes’ 36.2 overs in Hamilton were the most he has bowled in a Test since 40 at Trent Bridge in 2022 (also against New Zealand). On day one, his 23 overs were the most he has managed in a single day, split between spells of eight, eight and seven. It is worth noting England’s first-innings capitulation for 143 meant their seamers only had 34.5 overs of rest after 97.1 between them for New Zealand’s opening effort. The hosts went further in their second innings, keeping England in the field for 101.4 overs, eventually finishing on 453.
This New Zealand series brought Stokes seven dismissals at 36.85 from 66.1 overs – his most as captain – accompanied by a batting average of 52.66 across four innings. After struggling to effectively fulfill the allrounder role, it had been a welcome return to the Stokes of old.
Having arrived into the home summer following successful knee surgery in October 2023, he bowled 49 overs across three Tests against West Indies, with five wickets that took him past 200 career dismissals. The tear subsequently set him back, ruling him out of the three-match series against Sri Lanka at the end of the season, and the first Test of the Pakistan tour.
Stokes returned for the final two matches of that series but England lost both, succumbing to a 2-1 defeat having won the first Test. He admitted his drive to regain full fitness led him to “physically drain and ruin himself”. When the squad gathered at Queenstown at the start of the series, Stokes apologised for the negative effect he had on the team environment.
Prior to the Hamilton Test, Stokes was optimistic he was in a good place, with a better understanding of his body.
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“I have to work so much harder on the physical side of the job to allow me to go out and do my job but I got a good amount of overs in during the last two games and I am more confident about getting through a lot of spells in a day.
“That is where I got to before I pulled my hamstring. I bowled nice in the summer, had a setback but now feel out of that and not worrying about anything else happening again. As you get older you think about your body a bit more but I work harder because I have to.”
Source: ESPN Crickinfo