Ben Stokes suffered an injury scare on day four of the first Test against New Zealand after aborting a spell with the ball midway through his fifth over, but played it down as "more management than anything else" and declared himself fit for the second Test.
England's Test captain opened the bowling with himself on Sunday in Christchurch, with his side trailing by four runs but needing just four second-innings wickets. Despite looking uninhibited for his first four overs from the Botanical Gardens End, he could not complete his fifth, stepping away after three deliveries. Overall, his 19.3 overs in the match were the most he has bowled in a Test since December 2022, when he sent down 27 overs against Pakistan at Rawalpindi.
It appeared to be a precautionary move, and is understood to have been due to stiffness in his lower back. Stokes decided not to risk doing further damage, with Gus Atkinson brought in to complete the over, but remained on the field through to lunch. New Zealand were bowled out for 254, with Brydon Carse taking 6 for 42 for 10 wickets in the match, leaving England a modest chase of 104 for victory at Hagley Oval which they knocked off in 12.4 overs.
Stokes played his soreness down as much as possible in the post-match presentation, and declared himself fit for the second Test in Wellington, which starts on Friday. "I've not spent that much time out in the middle for a long time," he said. "It's been a pretty heavy week this week: a lot of time in the field, bowled 20 overs, and then spent some time out in the middle."
He also revealed that he had sustained the back issue while fielding. "I hurt my back diving for a ball as well," he said. "It's more management than anything else: with where we were in the game, it didn't feel necessary to eke out any more balls than I needed to. I think the body is going to be good for this outing, and I'm raring to go for Wellington."
Stokes had knee surgery last November to fix a long-term issue, and pulled out of this year's T20 World Cup to manage his return to bowling. He took five wickets against West Indies in his comeback series, taking him past 200 in Tests, but then tore his hamstring in the Hundred and missed four Tests as a result.
Speaking ahead of the first Test against New Zealand, Stokes said he was now "good as gold" and "completely over" the hamstring injury. But he also confirmed that he had skipped the IPL mega-auction in order to "look after" his body, and that he had taken the decision "to prolong my career as long as possible."