STOKES ON TRACK TO LIGHT UP THE ASHES
Ben’s progress has been really remarkable says pal Joe
JOE ROOT has backed Ben Stokes to put the smile back on England faces with a star turn in the Ashes.
The all-rounder is on target to return next month after taking time away from the game this summer with a finger injury and mental burnout.
And while Root maintained it will be a case of easing his friend back on to the frontline, he said it was “brilliant” to have his talisman back.
“We’ve seen him at training, having him back among things is always great, so it’s really nice to have him involved,” said the skipper.
“Ben has been fully involved the past couple of days.
“He’s had a bat, a bowl, taken some catches and is doing his fielding work slightly separately.
“I am hoping he will be fit for the first Test, and it’s been remarkable to see how far he’s come but it looks very promising.”
English cricket has gone through the wringer the past two years because of the Covid-19 pandemic, financial difficulties, the curtailment of the India series and now the racism scandal gripping Root’s Yorkshire County Cricket Club. On the field, the white-ball squad slipped to an agonising semi-final defeat by New Zealand in the T20 World Cup in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.
The Test side, currently at their pre-Ashes training camp on the Gold Coast in Queensland, will be joined by five members of the T20 squad plus coach Chris Silverwood.
And they have limited time to switch to red-ball mode with what promises to be a gruelling Ashes series starting in Brisbane on December 8.
England will finish their quarantine restrictions on November 20.
They then move on to Brisbane for two three-day intra-squad warm-up matches between the Test
TWO OF A KIND... squad and the Lions. Root said: “It has been great the past couple of days that we have been able to get out and train and use some of the facilities.
“Hopefully that can continue.”
England are hoping the Ashes can provide the pick-me-up needed after a difficult two years culminating inWednesday’s World Cup defeat.
“I think the series in itself will be enough of a way of doing that,” added Root.
“It’s a huge series, the one that everyone wants to be a part of, and one that people look forward to every four years.
“There will be disappointment about the T20 World Cup. But at the same time it is another great challenge and opportunity for us to do something
special.”