Premier all-rounder Ben Stokes has opted for an indefinite break from all forms of cricket to look after his mental health and properly recuperate from the finger injury he has been managing, the England and Wales Cricket Board had announced on Friday.
In a media release, the ECB stated
Stokes has withdrawn from the Test series India starting next week to prioritize his mental wellbeing and to rest his left index finger, which has not fully healed since his return to competitive cricket earlier this month.
England’s men’s director of cricket, Ashley Giles, lauded the cricketer for bravely confronting the problem and opening up about his issue when some have tended to incorrectly look down upon athletes making their mental health concerns public.
“Ben has shown tremendous courage to open up about his feelings and wellbeing,” Giles said, adding that the 30-year-old all-format star “will be given as long as he needs” to overcome the battle within and resume playing for England only when he feels mentally up for it again.
The Stokes revelation on mental health has also strengthened England’s resolve to look after the mental wellbeing of their players, something they have been wary of since last year when cricket resumed amid stringent COVID-19 protocols.
With players having to navigate through a cramped schedule across formats while also managing the bio-bubble fatigue accentuated by excessive time under quarantine, the ECB has been resting and rotating their team for Tests, ODIs and T20Is for over a year now.
Our primary focus has always been and will continue to be the mental health and welfare of all of our people. The demands on our athletes to prepare and play elite sport are relentless in a typical environment, but the ongoing pandemic has acutely compounded this.
Giles said.
Spending significant amounts of time away from family, with minimal freedoms, is extremely challenging. The cumulative effect of operating almost continuously in these environments over the last 16 months has had a major impact on everyone’s wellbeing.
England have announced Somerset paceman Craig Overton as the replacement of Stokes for the India Test series, starting August 4. Losing Stokes is a massive blow to the Joe Root led side, as he has been a game-changer for the side with both bat and ball.
Stokes has played 71 Tests for India with a batting average of 37.04 for 4,631 runs and a bowling average of 31.38 with 163 wickets. His ability to bat No.6 and provide England depth in the bowling attack have made Stokes integral to England’s success over the years.
With another prominent all-rounder Chris Woakes also not available for the start of the India series, Root and company have a task on their hands now to retain the level of depth that saw them prevail over the visitors on their last trip back in 2018.
In Stokes and Woakes’ absence, England only has Sam Curran part of their squad in the seam bowling all-rounder’s category. Curran was the hero for England in their last series against India with impactful runs and wickets in multiple games, but the team can’t depend solely on the young 23-year-old to balance their outfit. Curran has played 21 Tests for England with 741 runs at 25.55 and has taken 44 wickets at 32.52 per piece.
The Test series against India sees the curtains raised on England’s campaign in the next cycle of the World Test Championship. After failing to make the final of the first edition of the tournament, England will be desperate to make a winning start in the second.
