31 May 2023 , 17:00
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Ben Stokes has warned the Aussies that he is fit and ready to tear into them in the Ashes just like he did in 2019.
On the eve of the first Test of the summer against Ireland, the England skipper insisted his knee injury is under control and he is back in rude health thanks to his time at the IPL spent training rather than playing. Stokes played just two matches for the eventual champions Chennai Super Kings due to a toe injury and competition for places, but he has made it work and given himself the ‘best chance’ of being able to play an all action role against the Aussies.
“The knee is obviously in a much better place than it was in Wellington,” said Stokes, who hobbled through his last Test. “I've been in India for the IPL over the last nine to 10 weeks and what I have done is get myself into a position where I can have no regrets or say I have not given myself the best opportunity to play a full role with the ball this summer.
“I turned a disappointment of not playing into a positive. Every cloud has a silver lining and I played a little bit of a John Terry role winning the IPL!
“I have worked incredibly hard and got myself into a place where I feel like I am back in the 2019, 2020 space in terms of my own body and fitness. I have definitely given myself the best chance, but the mind and body are different things.
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“It is about managing it and the great thing about sport and being out in the arena is it gives you adrenaline. So it gives you stuff you’re able to do in a game that you probably would not be able to do in training.
“The thing about me is that I don’t need much bowling for the rest of my body to tick over. I can have quite a lot of time off and then build up quite quickly.”