LONDON: England Test captain Ben Stokes will be sidelined for at least three months after further tests revealed he has torn his left hamstring, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said on Monday.

All-rounder Stokes, who missed four Tests after tearing the same hamstring in The Hundred domestic competition in August, sustained the injury in the third Test of England’s 2-1 series win over New Zealand last week.

“Something else to overcome go on then!”, Stokes wrote on his X account.

“I’ve got so much more left in this tank and so much more blood sweat and tears to go through for my team and this shirt. There’s a reason I have a Phoenix permanently inked on my body.”

The 33-year-old all-rounder bowled 24 overs in New Zealand’s first innings and was two balls into his 13th over of the second when he suffered the injury — a much heavier workload than in the first two Tests.

“The Durham all-rounder will undergo surgery in January,” the ECB added in a statement.

England do not play again in the longest format until a one-off Test against Zimbabwe in May before a five-match home series against India in July and August.

Published in Dawn, December 25th, 2024