England’s Ben Stokes will undergo knee surgery after the World Cup in a bid cure his longstanding fitness problems and prolong his career.
Concerns over the Test captain’s left knee have increased over the last 18 months and he has not bowled in a match since July, his body unable to cope with the rigours of bowling.
Stokes suggested he was considering an operation after this summer’s Ashes series, which he laboured through in visible discomfort, but instead chose to come out of ODI retirement and take part in England’s title defence in India.
He missed the first three games of the campaign with a left hip injury, which has not explicitly been linked to his existing problems and, with England set to bow out after the group stages, Stokes has agreed to go under the knife.
He will see renowned knee surgeon Andy Williams – who counts Stokes’ team-mate Chris Woakes, former England captain Andrew Flintoff and a host of Premier League footballers among his previous clients – later this month.
Stokes hopes to be ready to lead England’s Test tour of India, which starts in Hyderabad on January 25 following a two-week training camp in Dubai.
Speaking on the eve of his side’s clash with Ashes rivals Australia in Ahmedabad, he said: “I am having surgery after the World Cup. There was a lot of time put into deciding when to get it done.
“It’s been a long time coming and obviously I want to get back to what I’ve been doing prior to the 18 months where I’ve had this injury. It’s been a big hindrance on me and affected what I can do for the team.
“Obviously that’s what I want to be doing. You’d hope that it means that I can get back to doing what I’ve been known for, which is playing a role as a batter and playing a role as a bowler as well.
“We’ll just see how everything goes, see how I respond to the surgery and all the rehab as well.”
Stokes had a flare up during the short tour of New Zealand in February and struggled to get match fit for Chennai Super Kings during the IPL. He subsequently played all five Ashes Tests but did not bowl in the last three.
He has spoken several times of his frustrations at not being able to impact the game with the ball and is eager to reclaim his status as an all-action all-rounder.
Stokes has never revealed the precise diagnosis of his knee injury, but chronic tendonitis is thought to be possible.
“When we go to those meetings we generally take a physio and doctor and they start talking, using language I’ve never heard before,” Stokes added. “I just turn up, go to sleep, wake up and hope it is better.
“I’ll switch off and let Andy Williams, the surgeon, do what he does best which is fix knees.”
He was more forthcoming about his use of an inhaler during training sessions in India, revealing it was down to “exercise induced asthma” and not directly linked to high pollution levels in the country.
Turning his attention to matters at hand, Stokes had a blunt assessment of England’s dire showing at the World Cup – a competition which drew him back in after a year away from ODIs – but has not lived up to expectations.
“I think the problem is that we’ve been crap, to be honest with you,” he said.
“We’ve had a disastrous World Cup and there’s no point sugarcoating that because it’s the truth. We have been crap. Everything we’ve tried throughout this World Cup, it’s just not worked.
“We know that as individuals and as a team, I think that’s where it is as a team, we’ve been nowhere near good enough to be able to compete in a World Cup.
“I think the biggest thing that we’ve got to play for is the pride of what it is to put the three lions on your chest.
“England and Australia in any sport, whenever the two nations come together and play against each other, it’s always a big occasion.”
ECB chief insists no decision made on Mott future
England and Wales Cricket Board chief executive Richard Gould has denied reports a decision has already been made on Matthew Mott's future as white-ball coach.
Mott's future has been called into question in the aftermath of England's failure to defend their T20 World Cup crown in the United States and West Indies, losing to India in the semi-finals.
Mott also oversaw England's calamitous 50-over World Cup campaign last year, as they lost six of their nine matches in India and crashed out in the group stage.
Reports earlier this week suggested the decision had already been made to dispense with Mott's services, with Eoin Morgan a contender to succeed him, though the former limited-overs captain has since said he has no interest in the role.
Asked by BBC Test Match Special if Mott's future had already been decided, Gould said: "That's not true. That's certainly not true.
"Matthew Mott is a really good guy and coach. He's got a great track record and it is the same with [captain] Jos [Buttler].
"We are always assessing options - that is what happens in high-performance sport, you are always assessing your options.
"You never want to be drawn into being given the dreaded vote of confidence or anything like that. Competitive sport always brings scrutiny and decisions.
"We'll constantly want to assess our options but we'll always want to do the right thing by the sport, the team and individuals."
West Indies grab three late wickets on day one as third Test against England in the balance
England lost three wickets in a dramatic end to day one of the third Test against West Indies, leaving them in a precarious position after restricting the tourists for 282.
Gus Atkinson finished with figures of 4-67, while Chris Woakes took 3-69 for England, as only a fine sixth-wicket stand from Jason Holder and Joshua Da Silva saved West Indies from being bowled out for a much lower total.
But England, chasing a 3-0 series whitewash, let their dominant position slip when taking up the bat for the final 35 minutes, Zak Crawley (18), Ben Duckett (3) and Mark Wood (0) being dispatched as bowler Jayden Seales dropped them to 38-3.
Windies skipper Kraigg Brathwaite won the toss and chose to bat, leading his side to a solid start before a spell of three wickets in five overs before lunch put England on top.
Atkinson accounted for Mikyle Louis (26) and Alick Athanaze (2) on either side of Wood sending stumps flying with a full delivery to dismiss Kirk McKenize for 12.
Brathwaite's knock of 61 was brought to a halt shortly after the action resumed, the captain gloving Wood's leg-side ball to Jamie Smith as the tourists slid from 76-0 to 115-5 in 45 balls.
Holder (59) and Da Silva (49) then shared 108 to drag the Windies towards a respectable total, but things looked bleak for them when the latter feathered Woakes' ball through to Smith.
Having gone 30 overs without a wicket, England needed just 14 more to polish off the tail, the highlight being a terrific diving catch from Joe Root to send Gudakesh Motie (8) packing.
England were given just over half an hour with the bat to cap Friday's action, but any hopes of a serene finish were soon dashed.
Holder made two terrific catches off Seales' bowling, the first from Crawley's thick outside edge and the second to dismiss Wood for a duck, either side of Alzarri Joseph's cracking delivery accounting for Duckett.
That spell ensured what had been a good day for the hosts ended on a sour note, with the Windies sure to target quick wickets when the action resumes on Saturday.
Data Debrief: Atkinson and Seales dominate
This series began with all the focus on James Anderson as England's greatest-ever bowler bowed out at Lord's, but Atkinson has taken centre-stage since making his Test debut in the opening match and now has 20 wickets through five innings.
That is eight more than West Indies' Jayden Seales, the next-most prolific bowler in this series, has managed.
Seales was determined to have an impact on day one, though, and his two wickets at the death have set the stage for a far more competitive match than those England won at Lord's and Trent Bridge.
McAllister cannot see Klopp or Guardiola succeeding Southgate
Gary McAllister finds it hard to believe that either Jurgen Klopp or Pep Guardiola will succeed Gareth Southgate as England manager.
Southgate, who led England to back-to-back European Championship finals, ended his eight-year tenure following their defeat to Spain in the Euro 2024 showpiece.
The 53-year-old was often accused of a cautious approach despite only Walter Winterbottom (383) and Alf Ramsey (224) overseeing more England goals than his 213, with supporters wanting to see a more attack-minded manager take over.
And two of the names linked with the vacant position have been pioneers of Premier League football in recent years.
Klopp ended his nine-year stay at Liverpool in May to take a break from management, while some expect Guardiola to leave Manchester City at the end of his current deal, which expires next year.
The pair have won 653 games between them and shared 25 major honours during their time in England and could be seen as the ideal candidates to end the Three Lions' 58-year wait for silverware.
However, former Liverpool and Scotland midfielder McAllister believes Klopp and Guardiola are unlikely to become England's next manager.
McAllister, who played 57 times for his nation, believes supporters would prefer an English manager at the helm.
"I think people are linking Jurgen with the England job purely because he has experience working in the English Premier League," McAllister told Stats Perform.
"He's worked with elite players for many years now at Dortmund and at Liverpool. So people are putting two and two together.
"Personally, I don't see it happening and I think I also see that there were links to Pep Guardiola and I don't see Pep managing England either.
"It's hard for me to comment on this because I'm obviously not English, I'm Scottish.
"The people I speak to within the game, there is a feeling that the manager of England should come from St George's Park, which is the headquarters of English football, the FA and all the coaching programmes that they have there.
"Why would you have all this and then put a manager not from England in? I think most of the people in England are looking for an English manager."
The Three Lions' next game is a Nations League clash with the Republic of Ireland in September, with Finland their next opponents three days later.
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