Ben Stokes has said he feels “lucky” to have avoided more serious harm after being struck in the face by a cricket ball while coaching Durham’s academy players in February.
The England Test captain suffered a broken right cheekbone and other facial injuries in the accident and underwent surgery. He is on track to play two County Championship games next month but said the incident could easily have been far worse.
“Pretty nasty but, funnily, probably the best result of a bad situation, to be honest,” Stokes told the ECB. “I copped one straight in the face. Just a couple of inches one way or the other, I might not be here doing this interview, if I didn’t turn my head round. All things considered, although I had pretty major facial surgery to sort it out – it was a bit of a mess under here (cheekbone) – I’ve got out quite lucky. So pretty thankful for that.”
The injury set his preparations back about a month, he added, forcing him to quickly reorganise his plans to be ready to play a couple of games for Durham before the Test summer. “I’m at the back end of all that now but it was a pretty scary situation. Thankfully still here and everything’s all right.”
Stokes is expected to lead England in their first Test of the summer against New Zealand at Lord’s starting on June 4 as they aim to recover from a 4-1 Ashes defeat in Australia. He also dismissed suggestions of a rift with head coach Brendon McCullum following the tour.
“When you’re in a position of leadership with someone else, if anyone thinks you’re always going to agree on everything, then it’s just impossible,” Stokes said. “To me, that isn’t a healthy environment for sport, where everyone just agrees with everyone or says yes to the person up there. You need debate. You need discussions. Then you end up getting to the place you both want to reach. As similar as me and Brendon are, we’re also dissimilar in other areas. But the thing we both want is to be as successful as we possibly can. We agree 95 per cent of the time, but for the five per cent where we have different views, we talk it through and end up getting to where we want to be. Agreeing on every single thing is impossible. Saying we weren’t aligned is a massive overstatement.”
Separately, England fast bowler Brydon Carse has withdrawn from the IPL due to an injury to his bowling hand. Sky Sports News understands the severity of the injury is not yet clear and it is too early to assess his availability for England this summer. It is the second consecutive season Carse has pulled out of the IPL without playing for the Sunrisers, after a toe injury ended his 2025 campaign. The 30-year-old has not played since the fifth Test of the Ashes in Sydney, where he finished as England’s leading wicket-taker on tour with 22 wickets at an average of 30.31.