Stuart Broad believes England must try to put a positive spin on being without captain Ben Stokes for the rest of the summer.
Stokes set the record for the fastest Test half-century by an England batter to round off a 3-0 series whitewash of the West Indies last month, but has been ruled out of the upcoming Test series against Sri Lanka.
The 33-year-old suffered a torn hamstring while batting for Northern Superchargers in The Hundred on Sunday and has set his sights on returning for England’s Test tour of Pakistan in early October.
🗣️ Harry Brook on Ben Stokes’ injury:
“It doesn’t look great, unfortunately. I think he’ll be getting a scan tomorrow and we’ll see how he is.” pic.twitter.com/xewUWl6oYh
— England’s Barmy Army 🏴🎺 (@TheBarmyArmy) August 11, 2024
Broad acknowledged the absence of Stokes was a big blow, but defended the all-rounder’s decision to play in The Hundred between Test series.
“(It’s) a real shame,” former England bowler Broad told the PA news agency at the conclusion of the Sage Small Business XI competition which he launched in June.
“There’s not much you can do about a hamstring really. It’s not as if he landed awkwardly or anything, he was just in deceleration mode.
“It’s a real shame for the Test-match team because he looked so fit. He’s worked so hard on his fitness.
“But to use that old sporting saying of ‘take the positives’, it actually gives England the chance to play against Sri Lanka with a make-up of team without Ben Stokes, that they are going to have to trial at some stage.
“Stokesy hasn’t been able to bowl for a year-and-a-half but has been playing as a batter. What happens the night before Brisbane in 18 months’ time if Stokesy’s not very well?
“It’s important for (replacement captain) Ollie Pope to get some experience and see what a team looks like without Ben Stokes – not that any of us would want that particularly, but you’ve got to find the positives in that and Stokesy will still be around.
“He’s already texted me saying he’s going to be the coach so I don’t know what Baz (Brendon McCullum) is going to be doing.”
Asked about the criticism of Stokes playing in The Hundred between Test series, Broad said: “He’s someone who likes to bat, likes to bowl. Ultimately you probably up your injury risk if you’re not playing any sort of intensity cricket.
“You can’t not play any cricket from the end of the West Indies series through to the start of the Sri Lanka series because your body will then be in the field the first day of Sri Lanka going ‘what are you doing, what’s going on’?
“You’re better off in a match than nets; I used to hate nets, I needed match intensity and The Hundred was the cricket that was going on that suited that the best.
“Not that he (Stokes) spent much time in the middle in his games particularly, but he was still playing for his mental sharpness against the world’s best players, Tim Southee etc.”
::: Sage and Stuart Broad are championing the UK’s small businesses through the Sage Small Business XI. Ten small businesses have each won a share of £50k in business grants, Sage software and experiences at The Hundred 2024. Visit www.sage.com/cricket to learn more.
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