Latest news with #TestCaptain
Khaleej Times
24-05-2025
- Sport
- Khaleej Times
India: Shubman Gill to be new Test captain, says cricket board
Shubman Gill will be the new Test captain for the Indian team, according to cricket board BCCI. This comes after Rohit Sharma announced his retirement from the white-ball series earlier this month. The squad for the England tour has also been announced.
Daily Mail
20-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Ben Stokes the man is threatening to overtake Stokes the cricketer: This is what he must do to become England's feared match-winner again
The news that Ben Stokes has not touched alcohol since January 2 was both reassuring and a sign of the times. England's Test captain – 34 in June – is determined not to hasten his retirement by punishing his body off the field as well as on it, and not every all-rounder in the past has shared that resolve. Then again, Stokes the man is in danger of ousting Stokes the cricketer, both on the page and in the imagination.
The Independent
19-05-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
Ben Stokes gives up alcohol to help recovery from hamstring injury
Ben Stokes has binned the booze during his latest injury rehabilitation in a bid to be firing on all cylinders for England cricket this summer. The Test captain is set to make his comeback on Thursday in England's one-off Test against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge, having been sidelined since December after tearing his left hamstring in New Zealand. He rushed back from a similar injury last year but his recovery this time following an operation has been painstakingly managed and Stokes has left no stone unturned to fulfil his vow to return in peak physical condition. Speaking to the UNTAPPED podcast, the 33-year-old said: 'After my first major injury, I remember the shock of it, after the initial adrenaline had stopped, thinking, 'How has this happened? We did have a bit of a drink four or five nights ago, could that have played a part? It wouldn't have helped'. 'Then I was like 'OK, I need to start changing what I do'. I don't think I'll ever be completely sober but I've not had a drink since 2 January. I said to myself 'Not until I finish my injury rehab and get back on the field'. 'I think the day I wake up and can't be bothered to do the training programme is getting towards that time you don't really want it any more. But I haven't got any interest in stopping. 'It's just getting harder to do everything. Hence why now I feel like I have to work so much harder away from the field, in the gym and all that kind of stuff to just give me the best chance of being out there to perform. But I'll keep going as long as I possibly can.' Stokes, who is hoping to play a full role as an all-rounder against Zimbabwe, revealed his relationship with alcohol is much-changed compared to when he was younger. A talking point in Stokes' much-publicised court case, where he was found not guilty of affray, was on how much he had consumed during a night out in Bristol that ended in a street brawl in 2017. Cricket and alcohol have been – occasionally uncomfortable – bedfellows at every level historically but Stokes admitted he and many others have had to adapt to the increasing standards in the professional game. Stokes said: 'I can have a social drink now. It used to drive my wife Clare mad that I would just be all or nothing. 'If we'd go for a nice dinner, I never really understood why it was so frustrating to her but all she wanted to do is share a glass of wine with her husband. Now I get it. I can appreciate it for what it is, not just to get me p****d. 'In the 90s and 00s there were unbelievable stories (about drinking). It's definitely settled down a lot over the years. 'The game is more demanding on the body than it was. There's so much more cricket, there's so much more in the schedule that it's just impossible for the body to be able to withstand all of that anyway without the downsides of what a couple of beers at the end of the day can do to you for the next day.'
Times
19-05-2025
- Sport
- Times
Ben Stokes: My drinking was unhealthy and affected my injury recovery
Ben Stokes has revealed that he gave up alcohol at the start of this year to aid his recovery from hamstring surgery and admitted that he used to drink until he couldn't remember what he did. Stokes will return to playing for the first time this calendar year when England face Zimbabwe in a four-day Test at Trent Bridge starting on Thursday. The England Test captain had two hamstring surgeries last year, the second of which came in December after England's 2-1 Test series win in New Zealand. Before a defining year for Bazball, with five Tests against India on home soil before the Ashes down under, Stokes has not touched a drop of alcohol since January 2. 'After my first major injury I remember
The Guardian
18-05-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
Ben Stokes quits alcohol to help hamstring injury rehabilitation
Ben Stokes has stopped drinking alcohol during his latest injury rehabilitation in an effort to be firing on all cylinders for England this summer. The Test captain is set to make his comeback on Thursday in the one-off Test against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge, having been sidelined since December after tearing his left hamstring in New Zealand. He rushed back from a similar injury last year but his recovery this time after an operation has been painstakingly managed and Stokes has left no stone unturned to fulfil his vow to return in peak physical condition. Speaking to the Untapped podcast, the 33-year-old said: 'After my first major injury, I remember the shock of it, after the initial adrenaline had stopped, thinking: 'How has this happened? We did have a bit of a drink four or five nights ago, could that have played a part? It wouldn't have helped.' 'Then I was like: 'OK, I need to start changing what I do.' I don't think I'll ever be completely sober but I've not had a drink since 2 January. I said to myself: 'Not until I finish my injury rehab and get back on the field.' I think the day I wake up and can't be bothered to do the training programme is getting towards that time you don't really want it any more. But I haven't got any interest in stopping. 'It's just getting harder to do everything. Hence why now I feel like I have to work so much harder away from the field, in the gym and all that kind of stuff to just give me the best chance of being out there to perform. But I'll keep going as long as I possibly can.' Stokes, who is hoping to play a full role as an all-rounder against Zimbabwe, revealed his relationship with alcohol is much changed compared with when he was younger. A talking point in Stokes's much-publicised court case, where he was found not guilty of affray, was on how much he had consumed during a night out in Bristol that ended in a street brawl in 2017. Cricket and alcohol have been – occasionally uncomfortable – bedfellows at every level historically but Stokes said he and many others have had to adapt to the increasing standards in the professional game. Stokes said: 'I can have a social drink now. It used to drive my wife, Clare, mad that I would just be all or nothing. If we'd go for a nice dinner, I never really understood why it was so frustrating to her but all she wanted to do is share a glass of wine with her husband. Now I get it. I can appreciate it for what it is, not just to get me pissed. Sign up to The Spin Subscribe to our cricket newsletter for our writers' thoughts on the biggest stories and a review of the week's action after newsletter promotion 'In the 90s and 00s there were unbelievable stories [about drinking]. It's definitely settled down a lot over the years. The game is more demanding on the body than it was. There's so much more cricket, there's so much more in the schedule that it's just impossible for the body to be able to withstand all of that anyway without the downsides of what a couple of beers at the end of the day can do to you for the next day.'
