Ben Stokes must do one thing against India, says Stuart Broad
Sky Sports cricket expert Stuart Broad has highlighted Ben Stokes's "biggest challenge" in a crucial Test series against India.
Sky Sports expert Stuart Broad believes Ben Stokes must control himself on the field by not bowling too many overs if he is to have maximum impact for England this summer.
Stokes will captain England into a five-Test series against India, starting at Headingley, but has struggled with fitness and injury problems over the last few years.
Former England bowler Broad says part of his job was to "control" Stokes's workload in matches and wants to see a concerted effort to keep him fresh for as long as possible.
Speaking exclusively to Radio Times, Broad said: "It's the fittest I've seen him looking. That doesn't necessarily correlate to being cricket fit, unfortunately – they do seem to be two very different things.
"I was very encouraged how he came on and bowled a four- or five-over spell against Zimbabwe in the Test match. He looked like he'd never been away. He's given himself every possible opportunity to play five Tests against India and Australia.
"He's very focused, he's trained incredibly hard and now his challenge will be controlling himself on the field, so not bowling eight- or nine-over spells, which is the reason his hamstring goes the next day.
"His job, to the best of his ability, is: can he bowl five overs before lunch, five overs after lunch, five overs in the final session and be done? Not 10 overs in one session. That will be his biggest challenge."
By entering your details you are agreeing to our terms and conditions and privacy policy. You can unsubscribe at any time.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Stokes is a box-office player who always seems to find himself at the heart of the action, but Broad has refuted any suggestions the England captain doesn't listen to those advising him.
He said: "My job when I was playing was to control that a little bit, to get him off from bowling, or say, 'Not now,' but I don't necessarily buy into this thing that no one can tell him what to do or no one can stop him bowling once the ball is in his hand.
"Because ultimately, if you give Ben Stokes a choice of bowling a five-over spell and playing five Tests in a row, or a 10-over spell and playing one and tearing a hamstring, he's only choosing the first option.
"Everyone around him has to buy into that as well, whether that's the physios or the players out there to literally, for the good of the team, tell him to stop bowling.
"Yeah, if he's got a hat-trick or four in two overs and he wants to bowl a sixth, not a problem, but not 10."
Watch all five England India Test matches live on Sky Sports Cricket and NOW from 20th June.
Check out more of our Sport coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Authors
Michael Potts is the Sport Editor for Radio Times, covering all of the biggest sporting events across the globe with previews, features, interviews and more. He has worked for Radio Times since 2019 and previously worked on the sport desk at Express.co.uk after starting his career writing features for What Culture. He achieved a first-class degree in Sports Journalism in 2014.
