England cricket fans rejoiced on Monday at the news that few saw coming. It was not their side’s comprehensive victory over reigning T20 World Champions West Indies at the weekend that had champagne corks popping and hope for a renaissance after a less than impressive summer coursing through the veins of the Barmy Army. Rather, it was the announcement that their talisman and Ginger General, Ben Stokes, had been added to the Ashes squad to tour Australia next month.
Stokes had been sidelined for the vast majority of the 2021 season with a badly broken finger, sustained while playing for the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL last April. He had stepped into the breach as captain of England’s limited overs team in July after a Covid outbreak forced the original 18-man squad to isolate, but his finger wasn’t right. Nor was his mental health. He announced that he would take an indefinite break from the game.
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