Ben Stokes’ time away from the team may be extended as the English cricketer is not certain about his recovery. Stokes, who was eyeing the tour against Pakistan, to make a comeback was seen practicing at Multan Stadium earlier today. Reportedly, he batted as well as bowled in the nets, albeit not more than half an hour. Although he had already confirmed that he would not fancy rushing back the process and in turn exacerbating his injury, there is some faint chance that he might still make it to the final XI. England will announce their squad for the first Test match against Pakistan on Saturday, and until then one can only speculate about his addition.
Talking to media in Multan, Zak Crawley said that the team, too, is not very certain about Stokes’ inclusion.
“He seems to be going well, recovering well from his injury,” Crawley said.
“We don’t know just yet. I think he’s got to do a few more tests, but he’s been doing some running and stuff.”
Zak Crawley, himself, would be featuring in the playing XI after almost two and a half months. His last appearance for England in the red-ball format was in July against West Indies. During the third Test match at Edgbaston, the top-order batter fractured his finger while taking a catch. However, he is good to play the series against Pakistan which will be a huge sigh of relief for England, as his replacement Dan Lawrence could not get his team to the starts which have become characteristic of the Bazball-inspired English team.
Crawley, 26, said that he feels fine, though he is not tiring his finger much.
“The finger is all right. It’s as good as it could be at this stage. I’ve recovered well from it. It was a nasty break at the time, but I’ve recovered well and I don’t feel it at all while I’m batting. In the field, I haven’t done too much. I’m trying to rest it, but I did a few catches there [in training] and it feels fine.”
The right-handed batter is a beast standing in at slip position. He has, many a time, taken absolute blinders at that position. In fact, he fractured his finger against West Indies while attempting a catch at slip as well. Having only just recovered from his injury, he would not want to risk standing there just yet.
“I won’t go at slip, just from advice from the doctor. I feel like I could, but I’m just trying to follow the professional advice. It feels back to normal now, so I’m looking forward to cracking on… I feel brand new. I’m looking forward to getting out there. I’ve certainly missed it, so I can’t wait to get out there again with the boys.”
In the event that Ben Stokes is left out of the XI for the first Test game, Ollie Pope will continue his role as a temp. So far, he has done the job rather decently. However, home games are not as much of a killer as are away games. It would be interesting to see if Pope will be able to shut down his critics with equally, or better, good captaincy in Pakistan.
