'The knee is much better, have worked extremely hard' - Ben Stokes confident of bowling in Ashes

Ben Stokes, the England captain, has no concerns about his bowling in the Ashes this summer. England will host the five-match series against Australia, which will start on June 16 and end on July 31. During his recent appearance in the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) and England’s trip to New Zealand in February, he experienced issues in his knees.

The English all-rounder played only twice for the IPL 2023 champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK). However, he is optimistic that he can make a difference during the Ashes and is looking forward to the upcoming one-off Test against Ireland at Lord's.

According to the 31-year-old, his knee is in considerably better condition now than it was during the New Zealand series. He said that despite spending the last ten weeks in India for the IPL, he had put himself in a situation where he could neither look back with regret nor claim that he had not given himself the best chance to play.

"Yeah, look the knee is in much better place than it was in Wellington. I’ve been in India for the IPL over the last nine to 10 weeks but what I have done is get myself into a position where I am not able to look back and regret or say I have not given myself the best opportunity to play a full role with the ball this summer," Stokes was quoted as saying by Belfast Telegraph.

I have definitely given myself the best opportunity, but the mind and body are different things: Stokes

He went on to say that he had put in a ton of effort with the medical team in Chennai but added that the mind and body are two entirely distinct things.

“I have worked incredibly hard with the medical team in Chennai, who were liaising with the ECB guys and got myself into a place where I feel like I am back in a 2019, 2020 space in terms of my own body and fitness. I have definitely given myself the best opportunity, but the mind and body are different things. But yeah, I have given myself the best chance," the England skipper added.

He further said that the only real way to get through injury is managing the workload and working alongside the medical team. Stokes also said that if necessary, he may receive a cortisone injection this summer, just like he did in March before the IPL began.

“We know what it is and it is about managing it. No (operation), it is just managing it with workload and working out with medical team to get through it pretty much. Yeah, look I just said I don’t plan ahead too much. That is obviously medical side of things, but if needs be (an injection), yeah," he added.