Ben Stokes’ return to first-class cricket has been delayed. The England Test captain had suffered a freak injury last month while training at Durham’s academy. Stokes was standing beside the nets when a ball struck by a fellow Durham teammate hit him on his face.
Soon after, Stokes underwent surgery on the right side of his face, just under his right eye. The all-rounder, who hadn’t played a match since early January, the 1-4 defeat to Australia in the 2025-26 Ashes, was expected to return on April 3 against Kent at Chester-le-Street in the second division of the County Championship 2026.
Ben Stokes’ return postponed
However, that won’t be happening now. Durham head coach Ryan Campbell has confirmed that Stokes hasn’t been cleared by specialists to return to competitive cricket. Campbell stated that the all-rounder will miss the first four matches and will, in all likelihood, return on May 8, when Durham take on Worcestershire.
This means that Stokes will, at best, play just two County matches before the England vs New Zealand Test series, which commences on June 4 at Lord’s, London.
“(The incident) could have been horrific. So, so much worse than what you think. A couple of centimetres, a different way, it hits him in the eye, and it could have been different. The ball was hit so hard. We are just lucky he got away with it,” said Campbell.
Plans to play white-ball cricket again
Stokes has been training despite injury, as he wants to be prepared when he returns. Campbell also confirmed that Stokes is expected to feature in the One-Day Cup this year. The all-rounder hasn’t represented Durham in the domestic List A tournament since 2014 and hasn’t played an ODI since the 2023 World Cup.
In normal circumstances, this would suggest that Stokes is returning to England’s ODI team, but one must remember that he has been playing only red-ball cricket since August 2024. This One-Day Cup return could be his attempt to play more cricket between Test series, as he won’t feature in The Hundred 2026 either.
“He has been training so hard to be ready. He has a lot to prove. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know the Ashes didn’t go so well, and he is a proud man who wants England to be the best team in the world. He, as a professional, is working at getting right and ready to go,” Campbell added.
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