Ben Stokes said England’s victory in the first Test against India left him “a shadow of my normal self” but after a week off he is now ready to go hard again for the second match of the series at Edgbaston.
Stokes oversaw a remarkable five-wicket victory at Headingley but acknowledged it had taken its toll on him. England spent more than 200 overs in the field as a draining match went into the last hour of the final day in hot temperatures.
“I feel better now than I did Thursday and Friday. It was a big week. I used the three days after that game to offer absolutely nothing to the world,” he joked. “I was a shadow of my normal self. It just goes to show how much five-day Test matches take out of you.
Stokes congratulates Jamie Smith after he scored the winning runs in England’s superb five-wicket win against India
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“But I’m all over that now and ready to go. Let’s hope we can produce something similar again. Obviously going 1-0 is a good start, a very tough-fought victory for us and a long five days, but now it’s about getting back to zero and focusing again on the win here.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to perform that full all-rounder role without thinking about how much I’m going to bowl. Physically and mentally, captaining is a bit more mentally fatiguing — especially when you’ve been out in the field for as long as we had.”
The England captain was back to his best as a seam bowler after surgery on his hamstring over the winter and says he felt full confidence in his body at Headingley, managing to get through 35 overs, taking five wickets and bowling at full tilt.
Stokes bowled 35 overs in the first Test at Headingley, claiming five wickets
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“Going into the last game I’d done everything possible to not have to worry about anything outside of what you normally worry about. All of my spells, rhythm-wise, I was able to back up throughout the day. I managed to maintain my pace which is one of things I wanted to concentrate on, and the ball was coming out nicely.”
The returning Jofra Archer was in attendance at England’s training, having missed Monday’s session due to a family emergency. England’s unchanged XI for the second Test, which begins on Wednesday, means the fast bowler’s long-awaited comeback will not come until at least next week at Lord’s, where he made his famous debut in 2019, but Stokes is excited about having Archer back in the Test fold.
Archer has trained with his England team-mates at Headingley but must wait to make his return to the Test side
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“Facing him in the nets there, he’s got the ball swinging quite nicely and there’s that effortless pace. It’s been a while since I faced him, so it was a little bit of a wake-up call for me,” Stokes said. “But I think it’s great to have him back in the dressing room. It’s been a long time since Jof’s been in the Test environment. The last time he was in a Test dressing room was under a different regime.
“We all know he is an incredibly gifted cricketer. We’ve seen when he walks out onto the field for England, when he’s got that ball in his hands, the whole atmosphere of the game changes, regardless of what situation he’s in.”
Andrew “Freddie” Flintoff was at Edgbaston on Tuesday as part of England’s coaching team. The former England all-rounder was brought back into cricket by his close friend Rob Key, the managing director of England men’s cricket, after a life-changing accident in 2022 while filming for the BBC show Top Gear. He is coach of the England Lions development side but Brendon McCullum, the senior head coach, likes to have a range of different people working with the team. On Monday, the former England all-rounder Moeen Ali spent the day with the squad in a coaching capacity and Flintoff was part of the preparations on Tuesday.
Key, left, played a vital role in getting Flintoff back into cricket. The former England all-rounder was part of the coaching set-up at Edgbaston on Tuesday.
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“It’s been a constant thing for us, to get some of the greats who’ve represented England into the environment, helping out,” Stokes said. “It’s amazing how many good conversations you can have in a social environment. It doesn’t always have to be in a boardroom or around the table talking about specific things because those conversations that come out of nothing are just as important.
“Freddie is someone who if you are a cricket fan you just gravitate towards because of his character, and what he did on the field. It’s classic when he’s about, because he’s a great man and loves his cricket. It’s great having someone like him find the love for cricket again, but also helping the next generation of England players coming through.”
Ali, centre left, is another former player who is keen on a coaching career. He was brought into the training session on Monday as a consultant
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Flintoff revealed this week that he almost took up the chance to become a professional wrestler after his retirement from cricket. He had even mapped out a fight with WWE icon the Undertaker and underwent a two-week training camp at the WWE Performance Centre in Florida. Flintoff said the money on offer was “obscene”, but he ultimately decided against moving to America to pursue the career.
“I nearly joined the WWE,” Flintoff told the Stick to Cricket podcast. “I didn’t want to box, that was never the plan. I would have been called ‘Big Fred’. The money was obscene, but we wanted to move back to the UK. The kids [his two sons Rocky, 16, and Corey, 19] wanted to play cricket and didn’t want to go to America.”
England v India
Second Test, Edgbaston
Wednesday, 11am
TV Sky Sports
England squad Z Crawley, B Duckett, O Pope, J Root, H Brook, B Stokes (capt), J Smith (wkt), C Woakes, B Carse, J Tongue, S Bashir.
First Test result