Ben Stokes suffered a knee injury during the first Ashes Test at the Gabba, Brisbane on Thursday. England bowling coach said that the all-rounder will be assessed overnight and then take a call.
Stokes suffered the injury during the 29th over when he was chasing a ball to the boundary.
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“Obviously Ben has hurt himself on the field today so didn’t bowl full pace at the back end of the day. Think our medical guys will assess him overnight and see how he is. Other than that the guys are okay,” England bowling coach Jon Lewis said, as reported by ESPNcricinfo.
The 30-year-old was making a comeback to international cricket after taking an indefinite break from all forms in July to prioritise his mental wellness and rest a fractured finger.
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Lewis further said that the the team will ‘dust’ themselves, and will be all set to perform on Day 3.
“Our preparation probably played a part in the last session, but it is what it is, similar for both sides. I know the guys will front up again tomorrow, there’s a lot of character, I know they’ve been in some pretty sticky situations before and they’ve come through it all right. I know the guys will dust themselves down tonight,” said Lewis.
Former England captain Nasser Hussain said that Stokes’ injury is a huge blow to the side.
“I said before this Test Stokes had to play and we would have to accept it if he picked up an injury because of his complete lack of cricket since July. But if that has happened now and he will need to be nursed throughout the series it is a huge blow,” he said.
David Warner narrowly missed out on his 25th Test ton before Travis Head scored a quickfire century to help Australia recover from a mini-collapse as the hosts finished the Day 2 with a 196-run lead over England.