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England Test captain Ben Stokes underwent a scan on his injured hamstring ahead of the three-Test tour of Pakistan. According to The England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB), he remains on track for full recovery, suggesting that the scans showed positive results.
The 33-year-old injured his hamstring during The Hundred 2024 fixture between the Northern Superchargers and Manchester Originals at Old Trafford. As a result, he missed the entire three-Test series against Sri Lanka, with Ollie Pope captaining the team in his stead.
Stokes has been named in England's squad to tour Pakistan for three Tests. The star cricketer had captained the Englishmen to a 3-0 series sweep over Pakistan in their backyard in 2022 and the tourists will be determined to replicate that feat.
"My rehab has gone really well" - Ben Stokes
During the third ODI between England and Australia in Durham, Stokes underlined the need to have everything sorted in his armoury to fire on all cylinders. Speaking to Sky Sports, Stokes said:
"It was a hamstring tear that just sneaked into my tendon, so that's why it's taken a week or two longer, but my rehab has gone really well, so hopefully tomorrow everything gets the all-clear, and we can start pushing it a bit more. There's a lot more than just my hamstrings that I need to get back firing again, in terms of bowling, because you use everything. So I need to get that all right to make sure that I don't do any more damage to any other parts of my body."
The Test series against Pakistan starts on October 7 in Multan. Pakistan are coming off a humiliating 2-0 Test series loss to Bangladesh and will be under pressure against England. Contrary to reports, Shan Masood has retained the captaincy as the PCB announced the squad for the opening Test on Tuesday.
