Ben Stokes has had his target of featuring in half of Durham’s opening six County Championship fixtures eradicated by specialists while the club have ‘no expectations’ of fellow international Mark Wood playing for them this season.
England Test captain Stokes, 34, was pencilled in to face Kent at Chester-le-Street next Friday, until a fortnight ago when a meeting with the surgeon who operated on his fractured cheekbone resulted in a revision of expectations to two matches in May.
The return of fast bowler Wood to top-level cricket has a longer timescale attached to it, but Durham do not want to add any pressure to his comeback schedule after his latest knee injury erupted during last winter’s Ashes.
Of Stokes, Durham head coach Ryan Campbell told Daily Mail Sport: ‘He was ready to go. His aim was to play round one and then sort of work his schedule out after that.
‘There was no way he was going to play six games, for instance, but three of the six was what we were looking at. Unfortunately, it is not to be.
‘He wants to get up and running because they haven’t played since the fifth Test in Sydney, so it was a rare opportunity for him to play some decent cricket with us.’
Stokes tried to see the funny side when posting this picture on Instagram last month
Stokes limped out of the 4-1 defeat to Australia with an adductor injury suffered on the penultimate day of the series, and was then set back further when he was struck in the face by a drive from teenager Robbie Bowman at an academy net session.
Campbell said ‘the specialists have been very clear with what’s going on and that definitely needs to heal before he can have the confidence to run in and bowl at batters,’ but even playing as a batsman was a no-go because of the threat of being struck in the face while fielding.
Stokes, who retained the England captaincy following a post-Ashes review, reported for net practice on Saturday with those that had been left out of the pre-season fixture against Durham University.
‘I’m not trying to blow smoke up his a***, but he will come in and throw to guys for an hour to make sure everyone else has had a hit before he then goes: “Okay, I’ll start batting now”. That’s the sort of guy he is.’
Meanwhile, 36-year-old Wood was advised in January by knee consultant Simon Ball to take his time in rehabilitation after discomfort surfaced in the 38th Test cap he won in Perth on November 21.
‘I’ll be really honest. I have no expectations of Mark Wood playing. Only because I do not want to put any pressure on him,’ Campbell said.
‘The specialists are the people that are going to get him back, so if he does come through then, of course, we’re here to help him in any way possible.
‘He walks through the door here quite often, and when I hear myself say ‘how’s your knee, mate?’ I apologise. He must be sick of people asking.
‘He’s working his a*** off, but it is a slow process. That’s the facts.’
However, Matthew Potts, who featured in defeat to Australia in Sydney, has had no appearance restrictions placed upon him by the ECB in the build-up to June’s Test series against New Zealand.
‘In my book, he’s playing all six games. Obviously, he won’t play all six games, but he’s cleared to play all 6 games. Then, we just have to work out his loads,’ Campbell said.
‘He needs to bowl a lot and he needs to take wickets because he’s one of those fast bowlers around the country who’s trying to become part of the full-time England squad.
‘People have said he didn’t bowl well in that last Test, but, the series was done by the time he stepped up to the plate and, you know, he’d been sitting on the sidelines for six weeks. It was a tough ask.
‘He understands that his execution of skills has to be higher and he’s worked hard on swinging the ball again, after probably becoming a little bit too over-reliant on the wobble seam, so, I’m excited to see what he brings to the table for us.’
