Stokes ready to ‘run through brick wall’ to feature in India decider

AFP | London

Email : editor@newsofbahrain.com

England captain Ben Stokes proclaimed “pain is just an emotion” as he insisted he will do everything in his power to feature as a fully-fledged all-rounder in next week’s series decider with India.

The fourth Test at Old Trafford, which ended in a draw on Sunday, was a personal triumph for Stokes as he became just the fourth England cricketer after Tony Greig, Ian Botham and Gus Atkinson to score a hundred and take five wickets in the same Test.

Stokes, 34, is also now only the third man in Test history to have scored 7,000 runs and taken 200 wickets after West Indies’ Garry Sobers and South Africa’s Jacques Kallis.

But the performance came at a cost for Stokes, whose career has been blighted by hamstring trouble, as he struggled with cramp and more general soreness.

Meanwhile a bicep problem in his right arm emerged on Sunday’s final day in Manchester.

His latest injuries are perhaps unsurprising given a heavy workload that has seen lively fast-medium bowler Stokes already send down 140 overs -- the most he has bowled in any series.

However, Stokes, the leading wicket-taker of the series with 17 at an average of 25.2, expects to take the field at the Oval on Thursday as England attempt to seal a 3-1 campaign triumph.