Giant of the game returns to cricket after the ‘hardest period’

The best allrounder in Test cricket has had the last few months extremely tumultuous for him.

Finally, there is some good news for Ben Stokes' fans. The England Test captain has not played any competitive cricket since the 2025-26 Ashes, the last match of which was played in January earlier this year.

Fantastic news! (AP)

England lost the series 4-1, and to make things worse, a few weeks later, he broke his cheekbone at a Durham nets. He had to undergo surgery later. If truth be told, he was lucky to come out alive from that horrific incident. So, as one can see, life has not been great for the English all-rounder of late.

However, now there appears some light at the end of the tunnel. The English county cricket season is underway and Durham are up against Worcestershire from Friday. Coach Ryan Campbell has confirmed that Stokes is going to play in the match. Not only that, he insisted he has no doubts whatsoever that Stokes has regained full fitness.

"He'll be bowling for us, 100%. In one of the innings, he might even go with the new ball, that's in our thinking," the Aussie told the Press Association.

"We've made it very clear, Stokesy is here as a member of our team to help win a game of cricket for Durham, not to get ready for England.

"I'm sure every England fan is delighted to see him back, but we're just happy to see one of our mates again.

"He holds himself to such high standards. He'll be the first into fielding drills, throwing balls at people and hitting himself plenty.

"We've already spoken about Ben playing, how it brings more media and more eyes on a game.

"It adds another layer, not of stress but of responsibility to keep your own standards high. I'm really enjoying having him around," he added.

The terrible last few months

Stokes was lucky to have been retained as the Test captain last month after an investigation into England’s Ashes debacle. He also admitted how the last few months, since the Ashes, had been very tough for him. "The last three months have without a doubt been the hardest period of my captaincy journey; it's tested me in so many different ways, and I'm sure every other captain has gone through this as well,” he earlier said.

New Zealand will be in England for a three-Test rubber in June, with the first game kicking off on June 4. Clearly, Stokes doesn’t have much time to regain his mojo. There is one more county game he can feature in before the Test series, against Kent, starting May 15. Make no mistake, there will be plenty of spotlight on him over the next couple of weeks.