Stone refuses to allow injury woes to sink his England Test ambitions
OLLY STONE is ready to resume his Test career in Galle tomorrow having feared for his England future after injuries took their toll over the past 18 months.
The Warwickshire paceman did well enough on his England debut against Ireland in the summer of 2019 to push himself into contention to feature in the subsequent Ashes series.
But a stress fracture of the back dashed those hopes before further fitness problems ruled him out of action for long periods last summer.
Although the 27-year-old has played just 38 first-class matches in eight-anda-half years, his stature and speed have kept him on the selectors’ radar and he is expected to take on England’s pacebowling duties from Mark Wood in the second Test against Sri Lanka.
‘It has been frustrating,’ he said. ‘There’s times when you question if it’s the right thing to do. But then you think, “Yeah, of course it is”. It has been hard, but I guess you’ve just got to get people around who help support you. My family, girlfriend and friends have been vital.
‘Picking up injuries along the way isn’t ideal. It is going to happen as a fast bowler but you try to minimise those. I love playing cricket, I love playing cricket for England and hopefully there’s many more years of that to come.’
With Jofra Archer rested from the tour and Wood having regularly topped 90mph in the first Test, the expectations facing Stone are clear.
‘We thought coming out here that spinners would play the attacking role but it’s a challenge we all look forward to as fast bowlers,’ he said. ‘Although the pitches aren’t friendly, if you get that breakthrough and do that holding role you can add to the attack.’