(Image source: X.com)
[Saba Sports News] England Test captain and all-rounder Ben Stokes, who is playing as a pure batter for quite some time now, was spotted rolling over his arms at the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam on Thursday.
Stokes last bowled in international cricket in the second match of Ashes 2023, playing mostly as a batter due to issues in his knee. He underwent surgery for the same after the ODI World Cup 2023 and made his comeback in the ongoing series against India in Hyderabad.
He did not bowl in the first Test of the series. Ahead of the second game, he confirmed that he will continue to play as a batter. However, he assured that he would be starting his bowling practice from Thursday.
“You will see me bowl tomorrow. I did say that this trip is a
back-to-bowling program for me. You have seen me do a lot of running
and that has been part of it. Tomorrow is just the start of low-impact
bowling, get the rest of my body going again and just gradually keep
building that up. I won’t be bowling in the game. It is a lot easier
[not bowling]. But I am looking forward to getting back into it,” Stokes said as quoted.
Keeping his promise, Stokes gingerly bowled in an empty strip without a batter.
Stokes bowling again. Long way to go. But progress. pic.twitter.com/SfoNqz1eee
— George Dobell (@GeorgeDobell1) February 1, 2024
Meanwhile, England announced two changes in their playing XI on the eve of the fixture, bringing in Shoaib Bashir and James Anderson in place of Jack Leach and Mark Wood.