Break letting me get over stomach injury: Stokes
BEN Stokes has revealed the abdominal issue which led to him being withdrawn from England’s tour match in Sri Lanka was caused by a blow to the midsection during batting practice.
England last week postponed their two-Test tour of Sri Lanka because of the global coronavirus pandemic, a decision taken while the tourists were still in the field at Colombo’s P Sara Oval during a warm-up.
Against a President’s XI, England were without Stokes, who had been pulled out of the fixture with a complaint the management were eager to stress was in no way related to Covid-19.
Stokes himself needed reminding that the injury almost certainly first originated when he was struck in the chest while getting some throw-downs.
“One thing the break has allowed me to do is get over my stomach injury that caused me to miss the second warm-up match in Colombo,” Stokes revealed.
“I’d had a bat, then sat down in a chair and had some lunch. When I got up to move it felt like someone was stabbing me in my abdomen, it was so painful. The doctor thought it might be appendicitis but a scan ruled that out, and we still didn’t know why I was in such pain.
“The next day when I got to the ground, Carl Hopkinson, our fielding coach, saw me and asked, ‘Do you reckon it was where I hit you?’ And then it suddenly dawned on me.
“He had hit me quite hard giving me throw-downs when I was batting and I had just completely forgotten about it. I’m all good now and will be ready to play again whenever the time comes.
“The most important thing is everybody’s health. That has to take priority over everything.”