ECB issues official update on Ben Stokes' injury in Manchester Test

The England National Cricket Team suffered a big blow when the skipper Ben Stokes retired hurt in the fourth Test match against the India National Cricket Team.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) was quick to provide an update on Stokes' injury at Old Trafford in Manchester during the fourth Test match of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025.

Also Read: "Never thought Joe Root would overshadow Virat Kohli": Twitter reacts as ENG star hits 38th Test hundred

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Ben Stokes gets retired hurt for the first time

Stokes delivered his best performance with the bat in the ongoing Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy in Manchester. He looked in superb touch and easily scored runs in the middle.

Ben Stokes stitched up a colossal 142-run partnership in 219 balls with Joe Root to push India completely out of the game. Stokes completed his fifty in 97 balls, and the way he was batting, it looked like he would finally hit a century after a long time.

However, it didn't happen as he was facing fitness issues in the middle and had to retire hurt at the score of 66 after the 116th over. It was the first time that Stokes retired hurt in international cricket.

As Stokes limped off the field and Jamie Smith arrived in the middle, former Australia skipper Ricky Ponting was left worried while doing commentary for Sky Sports. He stated:

“It is rare to see a batter leave the field with a cramp. But Stokes obviously feels he can’t bat properly and is actually hindering his team’s progress – or it is something more sinister...”

Meanwhile, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) was quick to release an official update on Stokes. ECB stated that there is no recurrence of Ben Stokes' hamstring injury and he is just suffering from cramp in his left leg.

Watch: Ben Stokes walks back

🚨 BEN STOKES RETIRES HURT 🚨#ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/MsNrQ3w61j

— England's Barmy Army 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🎺 (@TheBarmyArmy) July 25, 2025

Stokes returns to bat

After spending some time off the field and receiving treatment from physio, the England National Cricket Team captain Stokes walked out to bat again following the dismissal of Chris Woakes in the 130th over.

Seeing Stokes return, former England spinner Phil Tufnell, while speaking on BBC Test Match Special, said that the Three Lions need to score quick runs and get a lead of over 200 to put India under tremendous pressure. He said:

"Seven down, you have done the bulk of the work, it's time to go all guns blazing now and get the lead over 200 especially with Ben Stokes back out in the middle."

Meanwhile, Joe Root has been the top performer for England in the ongoing match as he played a spectacular innings of 150 runs, which took him to the No.2 spot in the list of all-time top Test run-scorers. Talking about Root's heroics, former India National Cricket Team wicketkeeper-batsman Deep Dasgupta said:

"Superb knock from Joe Root, he looks a little disappointed as he should be since he was batting so well. A brilliant delivery, bowled slower in the air and because of the slowness, he was dragged out of the crease."