“Just looks worse than it is” - Ben Stokes confident of managing knee injury during Ashes

England all-rounder Ben Stokes has asserted that he is confident of managing his knee injury in the remaining Ashes Tests. The 30-year-old stated that the issue which troubled him in the first Ashes encounter in Brisbane was a flare-up of an older injury.

Returning from a mental health break, Stokes looked out of sorts during the Ashes opener. He scored five and 14 with the bat and did not pick up a wicket in the 12 overs that he bowled, conceding 65 runs.

Writing in his column for The Mirror, Stokes pointed out that he didn’t do much in Brisbane, so the injury couldn’t have gotten worse. He wrote:

“Having a long break is going to show itself, but there are no excuses. I didn’t do anything whatsoever except take a catch and bowl a few no balls so the one positive is I probably can’t get much worse.”

He added that he is pretty much aware of how to deal with the injury in an efficient manner. Stokes wrote:

“People will have seen me rubbing my knee from time to time when I was in the field, but rest assured I’m fine. It’s an old injury that flares up every now and again, but I know how to manage it. It just gets a little bit uncomfortable … in and around my cartilage, but it just looks worse than it is by the way I try and get off it as soon as I can.”

England skipper Joe Root has also thrown his weight behind Stokes to come good in the upcoming Ashes encounters. Root stated:

“Obviously, he had a bit of a jarring of his knee … so hopefully it’s just something he’s shaken off now and you can see him back at full intensity and it gives us all options on the table.”

The second Ashes Test, which will be a pink-ball affair, will begin at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday.

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Ben Stokes signs new deal with Durham until 2024

Meanwhile, Stokes has signed a contract extension with Durham Cricket for a period of three years.

Stokes confirmed through an official statement:

“I am delighted to commit to a further three years with Durham, I have had some fantastic memories playing for the Club over the years and I look forward to experiencing more of this in the future.”

Stokes made his Durham County Championship debut against Essex in 2010. He has played 64 red-ball games for the club, scoring 3611 first-class runs with a best of 185 against Lancashire.

Stokes has also featured in 62 matches in the Vitality Blast, registering a highest score of 90*.