England cricket star Ben Stokes has showed off his huge shiner after he was struck by a stray ball while he was at some nets in Durham
England cricket star Ben Stokes has shared a worrying update on social media after he was struck with a ball in training.
Stokes, 34, took to Instagram with his battle scares – showing off his swollen black eye, a cut on his cheek and a bloody nose. Reports suggest that Stokes, who joked “you should have seen the state of the ball”, suffered the injury practicing at Durham’s indoor facility.
It’s believed he was not batting or bowling in the indoor nets, but standing at the side when he did not see the stray ball flying towards him. Stokes was then struck on the right side of his face.
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The 34-year-old is back in England after the dismal Ashes tour, which ended with a 4-1 defeat.
Stokes had been recovering from a separate injury he sustained during the Australia series.
A groin problem hampered England’s bowling attack in the fifth and final Test in Sydney, with injuries having plagued his spell as England captain.
However, any question of Stokes stepping aside as captain has been squashed, with the 34-year-old keen to stay on until the 2027 home Ashes against Australia.
Speaking during the recent series against Australia, he said: “It hurts and it sucks. It’s very disappointing knowing that we can’t achieve what we set out to do here.
“It’s a pretty emotional time for me in the dressing room and for the guys, players, management, backroom stuff. I hate living in hindsight because you can never change what you have done…
“It’s what you do out there that counts and we’ve not been able to stand up to what Australia have thrown at us. We’ve not been able to stand up to the barrage of execution from Australia.
“But we still have two games left in the series and a hell of a lot to play for, as individuals and as a team.”