Ben Stokes Archives

Stokes provides surgery update after freakish injury

England Test captain Ben Stokes says that he has undergone successful surgery after being struck in the face by a cricket ball.

The 34-year-old all-rounder posted a picture on Instagram last week showing his eye heavily swollen and bruised, a graze on his cheek and lip, and a bandage stuffed in his nose.

“You should see the state of the cricket ball,” read the caption, alongside a laughing face emoji.

On Tuesday, he posted again from the hospital with a photo of his swollen face and the caption: “May not look like it but the surgery was a success.”

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Stokes is back in England following a woeful Ashes tour, which ended with a 4-1 series loss to Australia.

Although he has made it clear he wants to continue to captain the red-ball side, his position remains uncertain, and there is an England and Wales Cricket Board review.

Stokes is no longer a member of England’s white-ball set-up and isn’t at the T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.

He could next play for Durham in the early rounds of the County Championship before England begin their home Test season against New Zealand at Lord’s on June 4 — Stokes’s 35th birthday.

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Stokes, Moeen added to England Lions coaching staff for Pakistan series

LONDON: Ben Stokes and Moeen Ali are set to join England Lions coaching staff for the upcoming white-ball series against Pakistan Shaheens, slated to commence in Abu Dhabi next month.

According to the England Cricket Board (ECB) press release, the tour involves three T20 matches, which will be followed by five 50 over fixtures.

Jordan Cox will captain the Lions in the T20s while Dan Mousley will take charge of the 50-over team.

“Jordan Cox and Dan Mousley will captain the England Lions’ T20 and 50-over squads respectively during next month’s white-ball series against Pakistan Shaheens in the United Arab Emirates,” the board said.

Following the announcement, ECB Men’s Performance Director, Ed Barney shared his views on the tour, emphasizing the tour as a buildup towards the 50 overs World Cup set to be held in 2027.

“It’s exciting to have such a strong England Lions squad selected. This group brings a real blend of proven performers, exciting talent who have performed over the winter and retains an eye on future best,” he said.

“With limited 50-over cricket on offer, this series combined with tours over the remainder of 2026 will give players the opportunity to develop and deliver as we build towards the 2027 ICC Men’s World Cup in South Africa,” he added.

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England Lions head coach Andrew Flintoff will oversee the coaching responsibilities that will also include Troy Cooley’s, who will be joining the team for the first time since returning to the ECB as Men’s Elite National Pace Bowling Lead.

Moreover, the coaching setup will also include Neil McKenzie, Sarah Taylor, Neil Killeen, former all-rounder Moeen Ali, Amar Rashid and England’s Test skipper Ben Stokes.

The opening match of the tour will commence on Friday 20 February 2026 at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi

T20 squad

Sonny Baker, Luc Benkenstein, James Coles, Sam Cook, Jordan Cox (c), Scott Currie, Calvin Harrison, Eddie Jack, Saqib Mahmood, Ben McKinney, Tom Moores, Dan Mousley, Matt Revis, Will Smeed, Nathan Sowter, Mitchell Stanley and Asa Tribe.

50-over squad

Sonny Baker, Luc Benkenstein, James Coles, Sam Cook, Jordan Cox, Scott Currie, Calvin Harrison, Eddie Jack, Ben McKinney, Dan Mousley (c), Liam Patterson-White, Matthew Potts, Matt Revis, James Rew, Mitchell Stanley, Asa Tribe and James Wharton.

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Former captain says ‘sacking Stokes, McCullum will not solve England’s woes’

Former England cricket chief Andrew Strauss has warned that removing coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes will not be enough to change a “depressingly one-sided story” in Australia following another painful Ashes defeat.

Strauss, 48, was the last England captain to win an away Ashes series, when his team triumphed 3-1 in 2010-11.

Since then, England’s record has been pitiful; they have lost 16 and drawn just two of their Tests in Australia.

McCullum and Stokes are under pressure after the visitors went 3-0 down in the series on Sunday, with two matches still to play.

But Strauss, England’s director of cricket from 2015 to 2018, has urged those within the game to avoid knee-jerk responses.

In the aftermath of England’s previous defeat in Australia, a 4-0 loss in 2021-22, Strauss led a high-performance review of the domestic game.

His eventual report made numerous suggestions, including cutting the number of first-class matches, restructuring the domestic game and focusing on incentivising elite player development, but they were largely thrown out by the English counties.

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Although he made no reference to the review in a wide-ranging post on the social network LinkedIn on Monday, Andrew Strauss appears to be arguing for a fresh look at such proposals.

“So there it is, another ambitious set of England cricketers made the journey to Australia, full of hope and optimism, only for their dreams to come crashing down around them after only 11 days of cricket,” he wrote.

“McCullum and Stokes will come under extreme scrutiny for the decisions they took in preparation for this tour in the same way that (Ashley) Giles and (Chris) Silverwood did after the last tour. And Andy Flower after 2013/14 and Duncan Fletcher after 2006/07.”

He added, “While they will know that this goes with the territory, none of the above are responsible for England losing so incredibly consistently in Australia since 1986/87.

“We have been badly mauled time after time over there because Australia are a better team, served by a better high-performance system.

“If we are genuinely serious about changing this depressingly one-sided story, then we need to look beyond sacking England coaches and captains and ask whether we are genuinely willing to make the changes necessary to break the trend.”

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England assistant coach provides update on Stokes’ fitness

England assistant coach Jeetan Patel has provided an update regarding captain Ben Stokes, stating that the all-rounder is fit to bowl for the remainder of third Ashes Test, though he remains visibly tired after a grueling day.

Stoked did not bowl an over in Australia’s second innings as the home side reached 271 for 4 at the end of the third day’s play.

The hosts had built a daunting 356-run lead, putting them firmly on course to retain the Ashes after winning the first two Tests.

Travis Head and Alex Carey finished the day with 142* and 52* runs respectively.

Ben Stokes, meanwhile, battled out five hours with 83 in England’s first innings. During his stay at the crease, he seemed to hobble and struggle with cramps under the scorching sun.

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Following this, he also spent time off the field after hitting his head on the ground while fielding.

Speaking after the day’s play, Patel turned down any concerns regarding the Three Lions skipper.

“He is fit to bowl, he’s just pretty knackered,” he told reporters at the Adelaide Oval.

“From what I understand, he’s pretty fit to bowl. I think he’s just pretty knackered and he’s taken a lot out of himself to get through to this point in the game,” Patel added.

Patel added that Stokes always operates at full intensity and would not bowl if he felt he could not perform at 100%.

“All I know is he goes at 100%. If he thinks he can’t do it at 100%, I don’t think he’s going to do it,” he concluded.

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Ben Stokes urges England to ‘show a bit of dog’ in must-win Ashes Test

ADELAIDE: Captain Ben Stokes has demanded England to “show a bit of dog” in the must-win third Ashes Test against Australia on Wednesday after “raw” conversations following heavy defeats in Perth and Brisbane.

The tourists have crashed to consecutive eight-wicket losses and must snap a 17-match winless streak in Australia at Adelaide Oval to keep the five-match series alive.

They have made one change with Josh Tongue replacing fellow quick Gus Atkinson, while off-spinning all-rounder Will Jacks kept his place ahead of Shoaib Bashir.

Stokes said after the Gabba defeat that Australia was “no place for weak men” and admitted to hard dressing-room discussions in the aftermath.

“What’s been said has been said,” Stokes told reporters. “I’ve done all the talking over the last two days that I needed to. All that stuff’s done now, so it’s about what gets seen out on the field in Adelaide this week.”

Ben Stokes was called “the most competitive person I’ve ever come across” by former England captain Alastair Cook last week, and the 34-year-old all-rounder wants to see more fight from his team.

“It’s just about trying to fight in every situation that you find yourself in, understanding the situation and what you feel is required for your team,” said Stokes.

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“Just look at your opposition every single time and show a bit of dog. That’s fight to me. You’re giving yourself the best possible chance if you’ve got a bit of dog in you.”

Asked how the team had responded to his demands, Stokes replied: “It goes one or two ways, and the response that the whole group has shown as a collective has been exactly what I wanted.

“And we’re going into this week with a full understanding of what we need to do. I think the team is very, very understanding of some of the bits that I’ve raised in the dressing room.”

Ben Stokes cited England’s battling third Test win against India at Lord’s in July as an example of the grit he wanted to see, the hosts having won by 22 runs deep into day five after a time-wasting row.

“That’s exactly what I’m on about,” he said. “We were probably in a situation where we would have to be absolutely perfect to win that game, and we were.

“The attitude and the mentality towards that specific situation is what gave us the best chance of winning that game.”

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‘Not a place for weak men’: Ben Stokes demands more from under-fire England

England captain Ben Stokes has demanded his players toughen up after another embarrassing defeat to Australia left the Ashes hanging by a thread, making clear the team is “not a place for weak men”.

Two Tests into the five-match series and England are reeling, crashing by eight wickets in both Perth and Brisbane and waking Monday to yet more fierce criticism.

Facing an almost impossible task to win the last three Tests to regain the Ashes, Stokes wants to see more fire from his players.

“There is a saying that we have said a lot here, Australia is not for weak men,” Stokes told the BBC. “A dressing room that I am captain of is not a place for weak men either.”

Stokes was particularly critical of England’s crumbling under pressure moments, in contrast to Australia, who have been able to dig deep and get the upper hand.

“Do we need to start thinking about what mentality we are taking into those pressure moments?” Stokes said.

“When we are on top, we are great, and when behind the game, we are also very good, but when that moment is neck and neck, we are not coming out on top on enough occasions.”

Australian media had a field day at England’s expense with headlines including “Humiliated”, “Humbled” and “Bazball in Ashes”, referring to the aggressive style favoured by Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum that has failed so far.

Former England great Geoffrey Boycott was scathing in his assessment.

“Brisbane was a horror show: irresponsible batting, bowling too short, too wide or too full and catches dropped,” he said in a newspaper column.

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“With this sort of batting and bowling, they couldn’t win an egg cup, let alone the Ashes urn.”

England have more than a week to regroup before the must-win third Test in Adelaide on December 17, where Australia are set to be strengthened by the return of skipper Pat Cummins.

But a scheduled four-day mini holiday on the beach at tourist playground Noosa after two crushing defeats may not be the best look.

Ben Stokes defended the decision, saying it was important for players to decompress.

“We have been here four weeks, and they have been pretty full on,” he told reporters. “As physical as this game is, a huge part of it is also the mental side of it. I know that. I have experienced that.”

“I know what the game can do to you when things aren’t quite feeling right or going well.

“Trust me when I say it is so, so important for teams to be able to go away as a team and almost put the pressures aside for a couple of days,” he added.

Adding to England’s woes, McCullum has been slammed for suggesting the team “trained too much” in the lead-up to the day-night clash in Brisbane.

Following the Perth defeat, England opted against putting their first-choice players into a pink-ball tour game in Canberra and instead had five intense sessions in the Brisbane nets.

“I actually feel like we over-prepared to be honest,” he said. “I think the boys just need a few days off, and we probably need to change up a few of the training methods.”

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Ben Stokes opens up on e-scooter controversy in Brisbane

BRISBANE: England captain Ben Stokes has urged his players to continue enjoying their time off without being distracted by media attention, following the controversy involving e-scooter rides during the ongoing Ashes tour of Australia.

England arrived in Brisbane last week after suffering a crushing defeat in the opening Test in Perth, a match that ended inside two days and created a long gap before the second Test at The Gabba, scheduled for December 4.

During the break, Stokes, fast bowler Mark Wood and wicketkeeper-batter Jamie Smith were spotted riding e-scooters in the city without helmets, a move that breaches Queensland road safety laws and could attract fines.

Under local regulations, riding without protective headgear can attract a fine of up to 166 Australian dollars. Smith’s scooter was reportedly fitted with a helmet, but it was not being worn.

Despite the backlash and risk of police action, Ben Stokes played down the incident and backed his players’ right to unwind away from cricket, stressing the importance of mental freedom on long and demanding tours.

“If the media think it’s going to stop us enjoying this country when we have time off, then it’s not going to do that,” Stokes said at the pre-match press conference.

“One of the most important things on tour, especially when you’re under pressure, is to go out, free your mind and enjoy yourself.”

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The England skipper also addressed the heightened scrutiny surrounding the team’s movements, noting that players are being followed closely at public venues across Brisbane.

“They’re going to be there and film us, so the message to the group is not to make decisions based on the fear of being caught on camera,” he added.

“We are human. We need to enjoy countries when we get the opportunity.”

Ben Stokes further defended the idea of players stepping away from the game between matches, saying he saw nothing wrong with spending downtime on leisure activities.

“I don’t see anything wrong with going out and spending your time off on a golf course or having coffee or lunch, riding on a scooter,” he said.

“It’s fine if they [the media] want to keep doing it; they are all polite and don’t intrude on our personal space. We have a job to do, they have a job to do.”

England trail 1-0 in the five-Test series and will be desperate to level the contest under lights in the second Test

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England ‘learned the lessons’ from Perth loss, says Ben Stokes

BRISBANE: England captain Ben Stokes said on Saturday that lessons had been learned from their crushing first Ashes Test defeat to Australia in Perth, but that the team had moved on.

Australia took a 1-0 lead in the five-match Ashes series with a stunning eight-wicket win in a frenetic two-day clash in Perth characterised by batting collapses and Travis Head’s match-winning 123.

In the aftermath, England was slammed as “brainless” and even “arrogant” by former greats for their meek performance after putting themselves in a strong position to win.

“We’ve talked about it, and we’ve moved on,” Stokes said in Brisbane ahead of the second day-night Test starting on Thursday. “We had some good conversations around the group.”

“Look, Travis played an amazing knock, there’s no hiding away from that,” he said. “But that’s not the overriding contribution as to why we didn’t end up getting the result.”

Ben Stokes noted there were “amazing things throughout that Test match.”

“The way that we bowled in the first innings … and we ended up putting a score on the board that we believed was definitely defendable,” he said.

“But we all know there were moments in that game where we could have been a lot better to help us gain even more of an advantage that we did have.

“We know that, and we understand that. And the important thing that you need to do from that as a team and as individuals is learning from that.”

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England face a daunting task at the Gabba in Brisbane to level the series with Australia, masters of pink-ball Tests, winning 13 out of 14 matches under lights.

Despite England having a much more mixed record, management opted against any of their main players being part of a two-day day-night clash against a Prime Minister’s XI this weekend in Canberra.

The decision was slammed as “amateurish” by former Ashes-winning captain Michael Vaughan, who added that he was “staggered” that they would turn down the opportunity.

Stokes said he understood the blowback, but defended the move with England instead scheduling extra training sessions in Brisbane.

“That’s where it is, it’s in Canberra, which is a different state,” he said.

“The (weather) conditions are obviously going to be completely different to what we’ve got coming up.

“So what you try and do is you try and take all the factors into consideration, the pros, the cons, whatever it may be, and then you always discuss that and decide what it is that we think is going to be our best preparation.

“We know that we are doing everything that we can to make sure that we are best prepared for this game,” he added.

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Stokes urges ‘shell-shocked’ England to move on from crushing loss

Captain Ben Stokes admitted Saturday he was “shell-shocked” at a crushing loss to Australia in the first Ashes Test but told his England team they must move on fast for the next clash in Brisbane.

The tourists had a golden opportunity to win a Test in Australia for the first time in 15 years, but they blew it inside two days at Perth Stadium.

After crumbling under a bowling onslaught from Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland, their hyped pace attack had no answer to a rampant Travis Head, who thrashed an incredible 123 to seal victory by eight wickets.

“Little bit shell-shocked, it was pretty phenomenal from Head,” Stokes said. “It’s pretty raw, pretty emotional, but that was some knock.

“We tried three or four different plans to get him, but when he’s going like a train he’s very hard to stop.”

Despite the demoralising loss Stokes saw some positives, particularly their first-innings bowling effort which saw Australia dismissed for 132.

“The way in which we bowled yesterday was phenomenal. A lot happened on day one, a good day for the bowlers,” he said.

“It’s a tough one as we felt we were in control. We’ll let this sink in, but we’ve got four more games.

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“It’s a long time before Brisbane, we’ll go away and put in the graft.”

The day-night Brisbane Test starts on December 4.

With so many players in the squad experiencing their first Ashes, Stokes admitted he had his hands full trying to lift them.

“Yeah, I think we’ve got to let that whole two hours sort of sink in first and reflect on it properly, without the emotion that’s attached to what’s just gone on there,” he said, referring to Head’s knock.

“Obviously there’s disappointment when you come off the field being on the losing side.

“So that’s up to myself. It’s up to some of the other senior guys who have a lot of experience in big series like these, because you’ve got to let emotions like this sink in, and it has got to hurt.

“But also, you’ve then got to get rid of them as quickly as you possibly can, while also learning from it.

“Because when we get to Brisban,e we need to be back up to that mindset of how we came into this game, still very confident of our abilities and achieving the goal.

“It’s crucial about not taking any baggage from this result into Brisbane.”

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Stokes sparks England comeback on 19-wicket opening day of Ashes

PERTH: Nineteen wickets fell on an opening day of carnage in the first Ashes Test here on Friday, with England’s attack led by skipper Ben Stokes bowling them into a position of strength after Australia dismissed the tourists for 172.

A rampaging Mitchell Starc took 7-58 to put England on the back foot after Stokes won the toss on a fine day at a packed Perth Stadium and chose to bat.

Harry Brook (52) and Ollie Pope (46) offered the only resistance as they crumbled after lunch.

But England’s elite fast bowlers, led by an exceptional Stokes with 5-23, fought back to reduce the hosts to 123-9 at stumps, trailing by 49.

Nathan Lyon was on three with Brendan Doggett yet to score.

There was early drama in Australia’s reply when Usman Khawaja failed to open with Marnus Labuschagne, instead walking out with debutant Jake Weatherald.

In a brutal introduction to Test cricket, Weatherald went for a second-ball duck, left on the floor by a Jofra Archer bullet and given out lbw.

Labuschagne fended off 41 balls for nine before he too succumbed to the sheer speed of Archer, bowled by a fuller delivery.

And when Steve Smith fell for 17 to Brydon Carse in the next over, caught by Brook at slip, it was game on.

Khawaja, who was feeling stiff, came in at four but lasted just six balls, blown away by a Carse bouncer that took a nick to wicketkeeper Jamie Smith, leaving Australia reeling at 31-4.

Cameron Green (24), Travis Head (21), Alex Carey (26) and Starc (12) all got starts, but in a reflection of the depth of England’s pace stocks, Stokes removed them when he brought himself on.

Starc bagged three wickets in an intimidating opening spell, including Joe Root for a duck, before returning to send Stokes packing in his first over after the lunch break, then mopping up.

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All five previous Tests at the Perth venue have been won by the side batting first, but England did their best to challenge that, getting off to a horror start.

Veteran strike weapon Starc delivered as he has so many times before, enticing a thick edge from Zak Crawley on his sixth ball that Khawaja did well to collect low at slip, the opener gone for nought.

Starc has now taken a wicket in the first over of an innings 24 times.

At the other end, Ben Duckett settled his nerves with a textbook drive off Scott Boland to bank the first four of the series.

But just as he was getting going, Starc pounced again, trapping him lbw for 21 to leave England tottering on 33-2.

That brought Root to the crease in his latest campaign for an elusive first century in Australia.

He only lasted seven balls, edging a seaming delivery into the safe hands of Labuschagne at third slip.

Pope survived the furnace and was composed before Green came on, and he was out lbw, leaving the visitors on 105-4 at lunch.

Brook hit Scott Boland for a six in the first over after the break before Starc again worked his magic, taking out Stokes’s stumps with an inswinger when the captain was on six.

A fearless Brook raced to his 14th Test half-century before feathering a short ball to Carey, earning Doggett his maiden Test wicket on debut.

Starc then removed Gus Atkinson cheaply to give him the 17th five-wicket haul of his career, and with Doggett, they ruthlessly cleaned up the tail.

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