England test captain Ben Stokes will be out of action for at least three months after sustaining a hamstring injury during the third test against New Zealand in Hamilton earlier this month.
As per the official announcement from England Cricket, Stokes will undergo surgery in January for recovering from a torn left hamstring.
During the second innings of the final test against New Zealand, Stokes was looking in good rhythm after picking wickets of Will Young and William O’Rourke. However, into his 13th over, Stokes pulled up during his run-up and seemed to be in much pain. He walked off the field while clutching his left hamstring, and never returned to the field.
The Black Caps posted 453 and then went on to win the game by a mammoth 423 runs, as England batted with 10 men.
Interestingly, the Hamilton test saw Stokes bowling 36.2 overs, which is the most he threw down after delivering 40 against England in Trent Bridge in 2022. The right-arm medium pacer was enjoying his bowling and seemed to find his mojo back, but sustained another setback.
Last year, Ben Stokes underwent knee surgery ahead of the five-match test series against India in January-March 2024. The all-rounder tore his same hamstring during The Hundred 2024 game, which kept him out for two months.
Recently, Stokes was not included in the 2025 Champions Trophy squad as well, due to his injury and not having played an ODI game since the 50-over World Cup in November 2023.
With this development, Stokes will now remain unavailable for SA20, scheduled to be played from January 9 – February 8. He was set to represent MI Capetown, who reportedly offered him a hefty sum of £800,000 (₹8.6 crore).
Ben Stokes has ‘much more left in tank’ for England
After England Cricket made the official announcement of Ben Stokes’ undergoing surgery, the star all-rounder took to X to share his thoughts. Stokes remained confident of overcoming another challenge and expressed his desire to return quickly to the England setup.
He posted on X:
“Something else to overcome…go on then!!!!!!!! I’ve got so much more left in this tank and so much more blood sweat and tears to go through for my team and this shirt. There’s a reason I have a Phoenix permanently inked on my body See you on the field to fuck some sh*t up.”
Ben Stokes opted out of the 2024 T20 World Cup in order to be fit for the long home summer following his knee surgery. It will be interesting to see when the 33-year-old will return to international cricket and whether he will ever represent England in the white-ball formats.
FAQs
What is the track record of Ben Stokes in tests?
6,719 runs & 210 wickets
How has Ben Stokes fared in ODIs?
3,463 runs & 74 wickets
