It is believed that Ben Stokes, the captain of England, will “be on the pitch” for the upcoming Test matches in Pakistan as some scans on his hamstring were performed on Wednesday. Stokes had also missed England’s last Test series in the wake of defeating Sri Lanka because of a hamstring tear he sustained while playing for Northern Superchargers in The Hundred on August 11. Ollie Pope donned the Test gloves in the England’s 2-1 win over the Sri Lanka series. But Stokes is expected to retake his captaincy in the Pakistan tour since the 33-year-old all-rounder got good news from the scans.
Next week England travels to Pakistan for three Test matches of which the first one will commence in Multan on October 7.
“England Men’s Test captain Ben Stokes today underwent planned scans on the hamstring injury that ruled him out of the Test series against Sri Lanka,” the England and Wales Cricket Board said on Wednesday.
“The results of the scans were positive and confirmed that his recovery, since sustaining the injury six-and-a-half weeks ago, remains on track to participate in the upcoming Test series against Pakistan.”
Complicating matters, it remains to be seen whether Stokes will be able to bowl at the start of the tour even if he is fit to play in Pakistan as captain of the side.
Stokes spoke to Sky Sports on Tuesday, and the question was posed: ‘Are you likely to be able to bowl in the first Test? ‘That’s you getting ahead of yourself. Obviously, I’ve been six and a half weeks now of just walking and doing stuff in the gym.
“What I mean by that is—there’s a lot more than just my hamstring that I need to get back firing and working up again in terms of bowling.”
