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<\/a><\/p>\nPublished On 15 Apr 202615 Apr 2026<\/p>\n
England Test captain Ben Stokes has said he feels \u201cquite lucky\u201d to be alive as he recovers from surgery after being hit in the face by a cricket ball.<\/p>\n
All-rounder Stokes required the procedure after suffering a broken cheekbone sustained by being hit by the ball during a net session while he was coaching academy players at his domestic county side Durham in February.<\/p>\n
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Stokes is set to play in two first-class County Championship games next month, but he revealed the incident could have been so much worse.<\/p>\n
\u201cI copped one straight in the face,\u201d the 34-year-old told the England and Wales Cricket Board.<\/p>\n
\u201cPretty nasty but, funnily, probably the best result of a bad situation, to be honest. Just a couple of inches one way or the other, I might not be here doing this interview, if I didn\u2019t turn my head round.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll things considered, although I had pretty major facial surgery to sort it out \u2013 it was a bit of a mess under here (cheekbone), I\u2019ve got out quite lucky. So pretty thankful for that.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cObviously it set everything back about a month, five weeks, with getting back to where I wanted to be to play at the start of the season for Durham, but just had to sort of quickly go back to the drawing board and put a plan together to get me ready to play a couple of games for Durham before the Test summer starts.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the back end of all that now, but it was a pretty scary situation. Thankfully still here and everything\u2019s all right.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stokes is expected to be fit to lead England in the first Test of their home season against New Zealand at Lord\u2019s starting on June 4, as they look to recover from their woeful 4-1 Ashes humiliation<\/a> in Australia.<\/p>\n Stokes downplays rift with England coach McCullum<\/p>\n Stokes, meanwhile, has played down reports of disagreements with head \u2060coach Brendon McCullum but added that they do have different viewpoints at times.<\/p>\n British media reported that former New Zealand captain McCullum\u2019s relationship with Test \u2060captain Stokes frayed during the Ashes series defeat in Australia, though the duo have publicly backed each other.<\/p>\n \u201cI am very confident in mine and Brendon\u2019s ability to be able to work together, because we\u2019ve done it for \u200csuch a long period of time now,\u201d Stokes said in an interview with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).<\/p>\n \u201cBut we work together in a slightly different way. The main point of me and Brendon is our alignment towards winning things and making this team as good as they can be.\u201d<\/p>\n Since taking charge in 2022, McCullum and Stokes implemented \u2060an ultra-aggressive style of play known as \u201cBazball\u201d, which has \u2060come under much scrutiny since England\u2019s Ashes defeat, prompting the ECB to launch a thorough review into the team\u2019s preparations.<\/p>\n