England skipper Ben Stokes believes that the increased bowling load he managed in the third test against New Zealand did not contribute to the hamstring injury he sustained during the game.
Stokes, absent for four tests due to a hamstring tear from The Hundred in August, did not continue in the match following his injury on Monday.
“Every time you step onto a field as an athlete, you expose yourself to the possibility of injury,” the 33-year-old stated in Hamilton following England’s defeat by 423 runs on Tuesday.
“I worked really hard to get to where I am in this game, especially in terms of my body.” It’s only Sod’s law that something happens the instant I feel young again.
Stokes delivered 24 overs during New Zealand’s first innings and was two balls into his 13th over of the second when he sustained the injury — a significantly greater workload compared to the first two tests.
The versatile player expressed that he had been very emotional after having to exit the field and wondered if there was anything he could have changed to prevent the injury.
“When you, when you rest in it and you remove the feelings from it, you understand that when you’re out there, you continuously expose yourself to danger,” he remarked.
“And that is exactly what it is.” “I put in a lot of effort to reach the position where I could play the role I did in this game, and it’s simply one of those unfortunate situations.”
Stokes, who is scheduled for an MRI on the injury on Wednesday, stated he would have batted on Tuesday had England been near to chasing their huge target.
England will not compete again in the longest format until a solo test against Zimbabwe in May, followed by a five-match home series versus India in July and August.
“Following my injury during the summer, I immediately considered that we had a specific amount of time before the upcoming test series, while this time we have a long wait until our next gathering as a test team,” he stated.
“However, I can’t elaborate too much until we truly understand the severity of the injury.” “I truly hope (I’ll be ready to confront India), it’s not too terrible.”
