England ‘nowhere near’ at World Cup – Stokes

Woakes, ex-England captain Andrew Flintoff and a host of Premier League footballers among his previous clients – later this month.

Stokes, right, hopes to be ready to lead England’s Test tour of India, which starts in Hyderabad on January 25, following a two-week training camp in Dubai.

Speaking on the eve of his side’s clash with Ashes rivals Australia in Ahmedabad, he said: “I am having surgery after the World Cup. There was a lot of time put into deciding when to get it done. It’s been a long time coming and I want to get back to what I’ve been doing prior to the 18 months where I’ve had this injury. It’s been a big hindrance on me and affected what I can do for the team.

“You’d hope that it means that I can get back to doing what I’ve been known for, which is playing a role as a batter and as a bowler as well.

“We’ll just see how everything goes, see how I respond to the surgery and all the rehab as well.”

Turning his attention to matters at hand, Stokes had a blunt assessment of England’s dire showing at the

World Cup – a competition which drew him back in after a year away from ODIs – but has not lived up to expectations.

“I think the problem is that we’ve been crap, to be honest with you,” he said. “We’ve had a disastrous World Cup. There’s no point sugarcoating it because it’s the truth. We have been crap. Everything we’ve tried, it’s just not worked. As individuals and as a team, we’ve been nowhere near.”

Afghanistan continued their bid for a place in the World Cup semifinals with a seven-wicket win over the Netherlands in Lucknow.