Ben Stokes has asked England team-mates to intervene if he overbowls himself during the Ashes, according to the new Test vice-captain Harry Brook.
Stokes is on track to play a full part in the five-match series starting at Perth on November 21 after injuring his shoulder against India at the end of July.
But England will need the balance he brings to their line-up if they are to win in Australia for the first time in 15 years, and that means careful management of his workload – a task that has often proved beyond Stokes himself.
‘There are people off the pitch to help with that side of things, but he told us last year as a group that if he gets into a position like that again, then go up and have a word with him,’ said Brook. ‘He wants to bowl long spells and that can sometimes be to his detriment.’
Brook, whose first job is to lead a white-ball tour of New Zealand starting next week in Christchurch, has replaced Ollie Pope as the Test No 2, but insists there is no need to think about captaining England in Australia because he believes Stokes will be fit.
‘I have full faith he is going to be there,’ he said at the PCA Awards in partnership with Toyota. ‘Everybody in the world knows what he’s like, his character and the way he just cracks on. That is the way the team is built now: everybody keeps going. If you do have a little niggle, just power through – and that is what he does so well.
Ben Stokes has told England team-mates to intervene if he overbowls himself during the Ashes
England will need the balance Stokes brings to their bowling attack if they are to beat Australia
New vice-captain Harry Brook says it is an ‘honour’ to take on the leadership role for the series
‘It’s an honour to have any leadership role, but it’s not something that I’m biting at the bit to do. I see Stokesy playing all five Tests.’
Meanwhile, Brook said the possible absence of Australian captain Pat Cummins, who is struggling with a back injury, would be a fillip for England.
‘He is an amazing bowler and has been for many years,’ he said. ‘He bowls at high pace with high skill. With him out of their side for the first game, from what we’ve seen, hopefully that plays into our hands. But they have a hell of a lot of good quick bowlers out there who can plough through teams, so we can’t take anybody lightly.’
Australia coach Andrew McDonald said he had not given up on Cummins’s participation at Perth, but admitted: ‘The reality is we’re starting to get tight in terms of the times. We’re still optimistic, but next week we’ll be in a position to get better gauge on where he’s at.’
