New Zealand vs England: Ben Stokes as a specialist batter will take away from him as a cricketer, says Ian Ward

Ben Stokes’ latest injury concern has brought up questions about whether he should adopt a specialist batter role, but Sky Sports’ Ian Ward believes it would take away from him as a cricketer.

The 33-year-old England captain suffered a left-hamstring injury while bowling on the third day of the final Test against New Zealand and left the field of play.

Stokes will now undergo “further assessment” as to whether he will return to bat in England’s second innings in Hamilton, with the tourists 18-2 at stumps, needing a mammoth 640 to win.

“There are two problems with that [Stokes being a specialist batter]. One is that England need him to balance the side and the second, bigger problem, is that Stokes will want to play his part as a full all-rounder,” Ward told Sky Sports News.

“That’s what makes these all-rounders so great, they want to be involved in every aspect of the game.

“Stokes at the minute is batting, bowling, influential in the field and the captain. If you look at Ian Botham, he would have got into the side as a batter or a bowler, but if he could only do one, it would have taken away from his general aura and I think that’s the same with Stokes.

“There’s no question around Stokes as a batter or his ability to play at number three, but that takes so much away from ‘Ben Stokes the cricketer’, so I don’t think that will be entering his mind.

“Again, we don’t know the extent of the injury but I do know he will throw his heart and soul into getting fully fit because he will want to play that role as a genuine all-rounder.”

Stokes was sidelined for several weeks by a badly torn left hamstring earlier this year, missing four Tests after picking up the injury in The Hundred.

He has bowled 66.3 overs in the away series against the Black Caps – his most in a single series as captain.

“It is a big concern. It looks like England are going to lose this Test match quite heavily, we don’t know the extent of the injury,” added Ward.

“When Stokes did it in The Hundred in August, he had to be helped off the field. On this occasion, he managed to be able to walk off unaided.

“You could see Brendon McCullum [England’s head coach] in the background looking a little concerned, so it capped off what was a horrible day for England.

“It was an excellent day for New Zealand, I think we’ve seen a bit more of what they are capable of, they were very off-colour in that first game in Christchurch, dropping all those catches which gave England a bit of momentum.

“England steamrollered them in the second game but it looks like they’re going to have a taste of their own medicine in this final game in Hamilton.

“Stokes will put in the hard yards to get fit, he’s a very resilient guy and he will want to continue in his capacity as a genuine all-rounder and he’s got time, because the next Test match is not until five months away [against Zimbabwe in 2025].”

Crawley’s troubling tour continues

England opener Zak Crawley (5) was dismissed for the sixth time by Matt Henry (1-14) in this series late on the third day.

During the second over of England’s final innings, Crawley had a review fall in favour of him, also off Henry, but he was removed in the fifth over on review and furiously trudged off the field.

“The only upside for Crawley is it’s not a five-match Test series,” said Ward.

“Whatever Crawley has tried to do to counter Henry has just not worked. Once a bowler has got your number in a Test, reversing it is almost one of the hardest things to do in sport.

“He will get the support in the dressing room from his team-mates and management but he will know deep down that he’s not contributing to the side and that can be a very, very lonely place.

“He will be desperate to get on the plane, get back home and away from Henry. It’s a very tough tour and mentally that is incredibly difficult to deal with.”