Ben Stokes to be England's coach for Sri Lanka Tests, claims Stuart Broad
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Former England fast bowler has made a revelation before England's upcoming home Test series against Sri Lanka. Broad claimed that Ben Stokes will act as England's coach for the series after being ruled out of the whole series with a hamstring tear. Broad also wondered about head coach Brendon McCullum's role in the team.
England captain Ben Stokes suffered the injury during The Hundred 2024 match while playing for his team Northern Superchargers. After the match, he was seen in crutches and was later ruled out of the Test series against Sri Lanka. As a result, Ollie Pope, England Test vice-captain, was promoted to lead the side for this series.
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Ben Stokes to be England's coach for Sri Lanka Tests, claims Stuart Broad
While speaking to the PA News Agency, Broad revealed Ben Stokes' role for the upcoming Test series against Sri Lanka. The former England pacer added that Ben Stokes will act as England's coach but also wondered about head coach Brendon McCullum's role.
“He’s already texted me saying he’s going to be the coach so I don’t know what Baz (Brendon McCullum) is going to be doing," Broad wondered.
“He’s someone who likes to bat, likes to bowl. Ultimately you probably up your injury risk if you’re not playing any sort of intensity cricket. You can’t play any cricket from the end of the West Indies series through to the start of the Sri Lanka series because your body will then be in the field the first day of Sri Lanka going ‘What are you doing, what’s going on?'" he added.
“You’re better off in a match than nets" - Stuart Broad
Broad further mentioned that Stokes needed to play matches rather than do net practice to maintain his competitiveness on the field. He also added Stokes did not have any fault in this injury and was just unfortunate this time around
“You’re better off in a match than nets; I used to hate nets, I needed match intensity and The Hundred was the cricket that was going on that suited that the best. Not that he (Stokes) spent much time in the middle in his games particularly, but he was still playing for his mental sharpness against the world’s best players, Tim Southee etc," Broad said.
“There’s not much you can do about a hamstring really. It’s not as if he landed awkwardly or anything, he was just in deceleration mode. It’s a real shame for the Test-match team because he looked so fit. He’s worked so hard on his fitness," he added.
England's recent form in Tests
England recently clean-swept West Indies 3-0 at home under the leadership of Ben Stokes.
Stokes has been a key part of England's Test line-up over the years. Not only he is a capable batter, but he is also a genuine wicket-taker with the ball.
His all-round credentials make him one of the most useful cricketers in the world. Stokes is also known to be a big-match player.
He played a key role in England's title wins in the ODI World Cup 2019 and the T20 World Cup 2022 with brilliant knocks under pressure in the finals of both tournaments.
However, his injury-prone nature has been frustrating for England. The Three Lions will hope for Stokes to be fit as soon as possible and prepare a perfect team for the next Ashes series.
