[Watch] Ben Stokes resumes batting in nets after being ruled out of ENG vs SL Test series

England Test captain Ben Stokes has resumed practising his skills in the nets, a week after being ruled out of the three-match series against Sri Lanka. A video of the same emerged on social media as the star all-rounder was playing some shots in the nets.

The 33-year-old suffered a hamstring tear during The Hundred 2024 game between the Northern Superchargers and Manchester Originals. After being assessed by the England Cricket Board (ECB), they decided to keep him out of the series. However, the veteran is raring to be fit for the three-Test tour of Pakistan in October.

The ongoing Test against Sri Lanka at the Old Trafford in Manchester is also the first the Durham all-rounder has missed since becoming the full-time captain.

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"It’s great to have him around" - Ollie Pope on Ben Stokes' presence in the dressing room

Ahead of his first opportunity to lead the national team, England's stand-in captain Ollie Pope said it's the opportunity to test themselves without Ben Stokes.

The Surrey batter also remarked that England's approach will remain unchanged. He was quoted as saying by The Guardian:

"We’ll miss Stokesy the captain and Stokesy the all-rounder, but for us as a team, in the long term, it’s a good opportunity to test ourselves without him. He’s pretty clear that he wants me to go out and do my thing my own way, but he’s more than happy to talk things through when I want to lean on him. It’s great to have him around. None of the ­messages are going to be dif­ferent, we’re not going to play any differently. I’ll just be getting similar messages across, in my own way."

Nevertheless, Pope's match as a batter hasn't gone according to plan as he perished for single-figure scores in Manchester against Sri Lanka.