Stokes fitness key before second Test
The fitness of allrounder Ben Stokes will be a key factor for England as they seek to win the second match against New Zealand in Christchurch and improve on a woeful record that has seen them lose 10 of their last 12 overseas Tests.
Stokes hurt his back during the one-dayers that preceded the two-Test series and did not bowl in the first match at Eden Park, which England lost by an innings and 49 runs.
The 26-year-old is still undergoing checks to determine whether he is fit to be England’s fifth bowler in the second Test at Hagley Oval from March 30-April 3, which takes place with the cricket world in uproar over Australia’s ball tampering scandal in South Africa.
Stokes batted at number five at Eden Park, scoring a patient 66 in the second innings and sharing in several partnerships that
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had threatened to snatch an unlikely draw after the tourists were bowled out for 58 in their first innings. Stokes’ knock had showed coach Trevor Bayliss he could comfortably bat in the topfive.
“The way he went about it over the last home summer, it stood out that he had the ability to be a world-class number five,” Bayliss told reporters earlier this week.
Stokes’ fitness to bowl is likely to determine whether fellow allrounder Moeen Ali retains his spot, with Bayliss putting the pressure on the off-spinner.