He appears to be fully fit again in New Zealand, with the 66.1 overs he has bowled in this series being his most as captain. The 23 overs he bowled on the first day of the third Test in Hamilton were the most he bowled in a single day.
“It’s always a challenge when it’s played in the same place as before,” former England playmaker Trescothick told BBC Sport.
“Is this the same injury? We don’t know. Until we get the test results, we won’t know.”
Stokes took his third wicket on the third day when he felt a hamstring injury and left the field immediately. Unlike the situation in ‘The Hundred’, when Stokes was helped off the pitch at Old Trafford, he was able to leave the pitch under his own power.
He did not feature for the rest of New Zealand’s second innings as the hosts amassed 453 to give England an improbable 658 to win. By the end, the tourists were down 18-2.
After the game, Stokes limped away from the England dressing room with a strained hamstring.
“Naturally he was nervous,” Trescothick said. “It’s calmed down a bit now. He made a lot of icing and visited doctors and a physiotherapist. He will get advice and hopefully that will make the decision for him.”
Stokes was scheduled to play for MI Cape Town in the SA T20 in January and that performance is now in serious doubt. The slim chance that Stokes could have been selected to play for England in the Champions Trophy also appears to have passed.
England’s next Test is not until May, when England host Zimbabwe in a one-off four-day match at Trent Bridge Stadium.
