As England and Australia are set to butt heads in the Ashes 2023 series, England captain Ben Stokes is leaving no stone unturned in his preparations. He has been in touch with the ground staff at all the venues, giving instructions on the kind of pitches England wants to play on against the Australians. Stokes has asked for fast and flat wickets to help England maintain their ‘Bazball’ approach and score quickly, hoping to regain the urn from Australia for the first time since 2015. However, he admits that it may backfire as the Australian pace battery is quicker than the English side.
The red-ball skipper is also approaching a final playing XI and has been discussing the availability of bowlers with medical support staff for the Test series. He wants to ensure that he picks the best team for the first game and has the option to have someone who can bowl above 90mph, which any captain wants.
Stokes hopes to get fit ahead of Ashes 2023
Regarding his injury, Stokes has been nursing a knee injury since February and has been in pain. He did not bowl as much during the New Zealand tour, but he claims to have bowled pain-free for the first time last week while playing for the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL 2023 match. Stokes hopes to get fully fit for the Ashes series and has been in talks with the people employed to look after the team’s body. He wants to fulfil his role as fourth seamer in the Ashes and is doing everything he can to make sure that he gives himself the best opportunity to do his role.
The 31-year-old wants to have at least eight bowlers in his bowler arsenal for the Test series and has directed the medical team to have these bowlers fully fit throughout the series. He mentioned Jofra Archer along with James Anderson and young pacers Mark Wood and Olly Stone as key bowlers. He hopes that Archer will play red-ball cricket before joining the squad, while the other two bowlers are set to start their campaign with the ongoing County Championship.
Stokes feels fortunate to have a group of English players who are in good form, stating that he could pick a 20-man squad right now. He wants to have the resources available for every game, as the games in this year’s Ashes are quite close together.
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