England captain Ben Stokes suffered an injury scare after being forced off the field with a hamstring strain on a dismal third day of the third Test against New Zealand.
The game was slipping out of the hands of the touring side. A century since Kane Willamson reduced the Black Caps’ lead to 478 off the tee, Stokes’ fitness was the biggest worry with the series already secured.
He retired two balls to the locker room in his 13 innings (37 innings). He moved under his own power but clearly felt uncomfortable.
not coming back
“(Stokes) is currently receiving treatment for a left hamstring issue,” a team spokesman said. “He will not return to the field in this innings and will undergo further assessment to determine whether he is fit to bat in England’s second innings.”
Stokes is back fit after severely tearing his left hamstring while playing for The Hundred in August and missing four successive Test matches.
He has spent much of the last 18 months managing his bowling workload due to a long-standing knee problem and has ultimately decided to undergo surgery to return to full fitness.
Now 33, Stokes said he was happy to be able to do his bit with the ball again on the New Zealand tour. He took seven wickets in the series, contributing in 66 overs.
white ball future
England don’t play another Test until May but there will now be serious questions about his white-ball future.
The Champions Trophy is due to begin in February and Stokes was coy about whether he would be tempted to be part of the new set-up led by his Test head coach Brendon McCullum.
That may now seem too big a risk ahead of a big year in red-ball cricket, which concludes with an Ashes tour next winter.
New Zealand’s Kane Williamson celebrates after reaching his centenary (Andrew Cornaga/Photosport/AP)
Whether or not Stokes is fit to bat, England will face a record target.
New Zealand moved to 274 for 4 at tea-time after finishing the first session with Williamson’s unbeaten 123 in the middle.
He was not the most fluent, surviving a narrow pound-for-pound shout from Brydon Carse on 73, a tough chance off Stokes’ gloves on 86 and a wrong-footing of Harry Brook at slip.
But he knows how to get the job done in this area, having now scored seven out of 33 tests here.
He moved into three figures with his cleanest hitting of the day. The youngster, who hit a long, flowing six off Jacob Bethell, was called in to finish off Stokes following his unexpected dismissal.
Rachin Ravindra was the only wicket to fall in the afternoon session, ousting Matthew Potts to mid-on after an agonizingly slow start. He scored just 7 runs from his first 50 balls but finally picked up the pace and posted 44 off 44 balls.
Read more: Ben Stokes picked up a new injury as England struggled in the third Test.
