England Test captain Ben Stokes has urged players to use the County Championship to push their case for international selection, calling it “a great opportunity”.
Stokes is set to miss the first month of the Championship as he continues to recover from facial surgery after being struck by a ball in the nets at Chester-le-Street in February, suffering a broken cheekbone and cuts and bruising.
England were thumped 4-1 by Australia in The Ashes over the winter, but Stokes said the talent available for Test selection is “unquestionable”. England’s first Test series of the summer is against New Zealand, starting at Lord’s on June 4, followed by a three-Test series against Pakistan beginning on August 19.
“I think it’s a great opportunity for a lot of people around the country,” Stokes said. “Obviously, we had the Lions in Australia at the same time as we were, so you look at some of the players that are coming through that system at the moment. The talent that we have in England is just unquestionable. The pool of players, the talent that we have, it’s probably as good as it’s been in a very long time. The first six or seven weeks of Championship cricket I think it’s going to be a very big one and people should use that as an opportunity to push their case as far forward as they possibly can and I hope they’re giving themselves the best chance of coming up for selection when we get together to do that.”
Durham coach Ryan Campbell said the county are waiting for specialists to clear Stokes. He has missed Durham’s Division Two opener at home to Kent and seems set to sit out matches versus Gloucestershire, Lancashire and Middlesex. The all-rounder could return for fixtures against Worcestershire and Kent in May, ahead of England’s first Test against New Zealand.
Stokes plans to play for Durham in the One-Day Cup this summer after opting out of The Hundred. He has not played 50-over cricket since the 2023 World Cup in India and last featured in the competition for Durham in 2014.
Stokes averaged just 18.40 with the bat in The Ashes and suffered a groin injury in the final Test, leaving him without match action since the tour. He was retained as captain after the tour, while coach Brendon McCullum and managing director Rob Key also kept their roles. Stokes described the results and fallout as “the hardest period of my captaincy journey” in an Instagram post.