England’s Ben Stokes plans to power past fitness issues this Ashes summer

Ben Stokes will hope to power himself through a hectic two months of Test cricket with the aid of adrenaline and cortisone, with England’s captain having to manage his body as much as his squad as he goes into the curtain-raiser against Ireland starting on Thursday.

Stokes had a cortisone injection into his troublesome left knee in March before he joined Chennai Super Kings for their Indian Premier League campaign, and he said on Wednesday that while “I don’t plan ahead too much” the treatment would be repeated “if needs be”.

However, the 31-year-old England captain says he has “got into a place where I feel like I am back at 2019, 2020 in terms of my own body and fitness”. He has been helped by the fact that playing only two matches in India allowed him to concentrate on preparing himself for the summer.

“What I have done is given myself the best opportunity to play a full role with the ball this summer,” he said. “I would much rather have been playing but I was actually able to turn a disappointing situation into a positive one because I was able to concentrate on properly being able to train. Sitting here today I’m actually thinking it could have been a blessing in disguise.”

While he had a lengthy bat in the nets on Wednesday and has no concerns about his ability to build a Test innings, Stokes has not bowled all week and for all his pre-match positivity may attempt to avoid doing so once the action begins at Lord’s.

“I’ve made a promise to myself and teammates, in particular the bowlers, that I will be doing everything I possibly can to be in a position to fulfil that role,” Stokes said. “The great thing that sport and being out in the arena gives you is adrenaline. It gives you stuff you’re able to do in a game