The extent of Stokes’ injury was revealed earlier this week when it was confirmed he had been left out of England’s 15-man squad for the Champions Trophy in February. The ECB said he was not considered on medical grounds as he had not played for the England ODI team since being left out of the Over-50 World Cup in India in November 2023.
Stokes’ 36.2 overs in Hamilton are the highest he has bowled in a Test since 40 at Trent Bridge (against New Zealand) in 2022. On the first day, his 23 overs was the most he had ever managed in a day, split into spells of eight, eight and seven. It is worth noting that England’s 143 in their first innings meant the seamers had a break of 34.5 overs after being bowled out at 97.1 in New Zealand’s opener. The hosts went further in the second innings and kept England on the field for 101.4 overs, eventually finishing on 453.
This New Zealand series brought Stokes seven dismissals in 66.1 overs at 36.85. This is his best performance as captain, with a batting average of 52.66 over four innings. After struggling to perform effectively in a versatile role, a return to the old Stokes was a welcome one.
Arriving in the home summer following successful knee surgery in October 2023, he bowled 49 overs in three Tests against the West Indies and passed 200 dismissals in his career with five wickets. Tears subsequently ruled him out of the three-match series against Sri Lanka at the end of the season and the first Test of the tour of Pakistan.
Stokes returned for the final two matches of that series, but England lost both matches, losing 2–1 after winning the first Test. He admitted that his efforts to regain full fitness had left him “physically exhausted and ruining himself.” When the team gathered in Queenstown at the start of the series, Stokes apologized for the negative impact he had had on the team environment.
Before the Hamilton Test, Stokes was optimistic he was in a good position due to his better understanding of his body.
“I have to work a lot harder on the physical side of the job to be able to go out and do my job, but I’ve been through a lot of overs in the last two games and I’m more confident about getting through a lot of spells in a day.
“I’ve come this far before I had a hamstring injury. I was bowling well in the summer and then I had a setback, but that’s gone now and I’m not worried about what’s going to happen again. “As I get older, I think about my body a little bit more. But “I work harder because I have to.”
