Ben Stokes will be cursing his luck having suffered another injury on his first Test back in the England team but niggles and strains are all part and parcel of international cricket.
A lot of it is about the character of the player. Someone like Stokesy, who is keen to have big involvements in every game he plays and wants to grab a match by the scruff of the neck, is the type who will sometimes come back a little bit early.
You always play with niggles because of the nature of the game, and how many matches there are, so it is so easy for a niggle to become an injury. I always talk about it but it is all about fine lines. Players have to have body awareness and listen to their head more than their heart.
You get body awareness over time, it’s not something that you just pick up, but you need to pay attention and not just mask any pain. The odd injection doesn’t affect too much, but if you are having to rely on these things to get you through every game then you are asking for trouble later in your career.
I was quite lucky when it came to injuries. I made sure I got super fit in the winters to the extent that the best shape I was ever in was when I didn’t have games to play!
I trained with Leicester Tigers rugby team and was smashing the beep test. My weight training was important, too, so my muscles had the strength for what would be a long season. I got strong but I stretched too – I used to be able to do the splits until I was 40. Your body is your industry and getting fit is injury prevention.
It’s not necessarily thinking about whether you’ll still be fit and able to play years down the line; it’s about being fit and prepared whenever your country or team needs you.
I scored 1,000 runs in 1994, went on an England A tour and Allan Donald broke my thumb a few weeks before the Tests started when the ‘A’ team played Warwickshire.
England were playing West Indies that summer and I had been talked about to make my Test debut. I was on 51 not out and he absolutely smashed my thumb at Edgbaston. Because of my nature, and who I am, I tried to come back too soon. I thought I’d be okay with a cast on it, but my confidence was gone and I was holding the bat completely differently.
I was ordinary because of it, but when you know you’re that close to an international call-up you will just do anything to try to impress the powers that be.
You’re thinking about a few weeks down the line rather than the rest of your career.
Ben is in a different position. I was trying to get a position in the team whereas he already has one. As soon as he is fit he will be in the XI nine times out of ten.
You become your own worst enemy when injured, especially a muscle injury. With broken bones, an X-ray will show whether it’s fixed but only you can say whether your muscle feels right.
Being injured can be a very lonely time. You begin to miss the training drills that you’ve always hated. I never felt part of the squad when I was injured, I always felt isolated. That’s because you want to play but if the lads are away for a four-day game and you’ve had to stay then it’s difficult. It’s just you and the physio and you don’t feel like a professional cricketer.
It’s a bit different now. Ben will be in and around that England squad next week. He will still feel involved in all the banter and I’m sure he will give his advice to the team and feel like he’s still part of the squad.
This piece originally featured in The Cricket Paper, Friday July 29 2016
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