STONE ROSES Pace ace’s back in groove to face Windies after injury woe
CRICKET
The Warwickshire quickie made his debut for England against Ireland at Lords last summer and regularly topped 90mph on the speed gun.
But he then missed out on clashing with the Aussies after suffering a stress fracture of the back.
Stone is now embedded in England’s biosecure bubble at Hampshire’s Ageas Bowl. It’s the kind of pace he showed against the Irish that has secured his place in the Test squad of 30 – and he’ll be vying
for a spot against the West Indies alongside the likes of Jofra Archer and Mark Wood (both above).
All Stone, 26, wants now is a prolonged chance to prove that he belongs at the highest level when he’s fit and firing, after a pre-season shaped by the pandemic.
Stone said: “I was lucky enough towards the end of lockdown to have one of the local cricket clubs in Norwich setting something up for me.
“I was living with the missus in a flat and there really isn’t too much you can do. I started off running then opted for the bike to try and get some miles under my belt.
“The back is good. I’ve kept pretty fit over lockdown and then, coming back into training, I feel good.
“I’ve only played one match since that Test against Ireland – a T20 for Warwickshire – so it feels like I haven’t played cricket for a long time.
“Most of my career I’ve felt good and then got injured. That has always been the frustrating
thing for me. But now, coming back, I’ve got that little bit fitter and have had this time to work on my action. “If I get back in the side then hopefully the only reason I don’t play in games is because they’re rotating and resting people.” Stone has suffered cruel luck with injuries since bursting onto the scene with Northamptonshire in 2012. He suffered a horror injury celebrating the wicket of Moeen Ali in a Natwest Blast match between Northants and Worcestershire back in June 2016. The damage done to his anterior cruciate ligament kept him out of the game for a year. Now he’ll be looking to inflict damage on the West Indies batting line-up in the coming weeks.