BEN CAN’T LET BUBBLE BURST
BEN STOKES has revealed his coping mechanism to make sure a hectic schedule in 2021 doesn’t grind him down. The all-action all-rounder has hopped from one bubble to another ahead of the start of the new Indian Premier League, having played in all 12 of England’s matches against India.
And he has admitted to feeling flat at the thought of just how much cricket he has ahead of him this year – remaining in bio-secure bubbles throughout. Stokes said: “No sooner has the England finished, I now find myself in Mumbai gearing up for the Indian Premier League with Rajasthan Royals (inset) and that is going to be another intense tournament.
“Then comes Test cricket, more international white-ball cricket, The Hundred, more Test cricket and then the T20 World Cup and the Ashes.
“That is why I’m trying so hard to just focus on what is in front of me. It is the only way to cope with it all.
“Don’t get me wrong, I am loving the situation I’m in and I am really enjoying my cricket. And yet between the matches, the training, and the movement from one bubble to another, there is no doubt it can leave you feeling flat at times.
“I am squarely on the 2021 treadmill and it is operating at a lively pace.”
Stokes’ sentiments are a warning to the administrators at Lord’s, whose response to the long-held cries of ‘too much cricket’ has been to install a new format and even more cricket into the schedule.
Stokes admitted that while he put his heart and soul into the India tour, his own performances mirrored England’s inconsistentour cies as they lost all three series. The IPL may well be the immediate beneficiary of the cricket he has played so far this year, but Stokes is also confident that the T20 World Cup should reap some of the seeds that have been sowed.
He added: “There were moments to treasure but ultimately it was a bit patchy. “We still got plenty out of the tour, with lots put into the bank for the T20 World Cup to come at the end of the year, but I can’t even begin to think about that now with so much coming up.”