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The star English all-rounder Ben Stokes once again showed how tough he is when despite injury he decided to stay on the field during the fourth Ashes Test in Sydney on Thursday. His fellow teammate Stuart Broad applauded the bravado shown by the 30-year old all-rounder by saying he has never come across a toughest cricketer like the big Ben.
On Day 2, Stokes suffered a side strain, managing to bowl just five balls in his fifth over of the day before walking off the field. While he returned to the field later, he refrained from bowling. He fielded at the slips, where his movement was restricted, while it gives him and England a fresh setback, having recently recovered from his finger injury.
Stuart Broad said: “He's one of the toughest blokes I've ever met, the toughest cricketer I've ever met, so for him to go off and not to bowl, it's obviously sore.”
James Anderson, Mark Wood and Stuart Broad shared the burdens, while Stokes' chances of bowling in the second innings look relatively slim. Following the end of the day's play, Broad termed him as one of the most robust and most formidable players in the side. He revealed that he has been heavily icing since the strain.
"Hopefully we give him a lot of rest [on Friday] because 12-24 hours in cricket is quite a long time. It gives the body a lot of time to heal.
"He stayed on the field so he could bat in his usual position and he'll be out there if it's not torn to shreds. We as England fans and team-mates hope it's not as bad as him not bowling again on this trip," Broad added.
Stokes has taken four wickets in the series so far at an average of 71.50 apiece, while he is averaging 16.83 with the bat, having scored 101 runs with a top score of 34.
Meanwhile, Kangaroos declared at 416-8 late in the final session on day two at the SCG, in an innings headlined by Khawaja's 137, where he batted for almost seven hours and hit 13 boundaries.
