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Ben Stokes signs contract extension for three years with Durham

England all-rounder Ben Stokes has signed a contract extension for three years with Durham. Stokes had made a return to cricket after taking a mental health break. Stokes expressed his delight after signing an extension with the club. “I am delighted to commit to a further three years with Durham, I have had some fantastic memories playing for the Club over the years and I look forward to experiencing more of this in the future," Stokes said. Playing for Durham, the left-handed batsman has notched up 3611 first-class runs in 64 matches. Apart from this, Stokes has played 62 T20 Blast games. Director of Cricket, Marcus North also expressed his joy after the all-rounder agreed his future to Durham for a further 3 years. "Ben is one of the finest players in the world and while we may not see him as much as we would like, his influence around the club remains huge. It's fantastic to see Ben back fit and well following his time away from the game and now back playing for England in the Ashes. We are extremely happy that Ben has agreed his future to Durham for a further 3 years," added Marcus North.

The Ashes | David Warner to undergo fitness test before day-night Test in Adelaide

The hosts Australia are expecting David Warner to be fit and ready for the second Test of the Ashes series starting December 16 in Adelaide but the opener is racing against the time to recover from the rib injury he picked up in the first Test. He is set to undergo a fitness test tonight when Australia will hit the nets under lights to prepare for the Pink Ball Test against their arch-rivals, Fox Sports reported. The batting hero of the Gabba Test with a swashbuckling hundred, Travis Head has expressed expectations that Warner will be ready to play the second Test and that all he needed was rest to get back in the groove. He said that the opener is in good space and should bat at the top of the order at the Adelaide Oval. “I flew home with him a couple of days ago. His family have come into Adelaide which was nice,” Travis Head said. “And he felt like he was in a good space. Obviously, he was a little bit sore, we didn’t take any risks with him only needing 20. “He was going to bat but in the end, our bowlers did a fantastic job to give him a day off. So I think for him it was just rest. I think he’s ready to go. So no issues for David.” He was hit on the rib while batting in the first innings where he notched up 94 aggressive runs before getting dismissed off Ollie Robinson and did not bat in the second innings. As per reports, he was going through a lot of pain but was prepared to take a painkiller to bat in the chase of 20 runs to take Australia 1-0 up in the five-match series. Australia have had other injury concerns as well with Josh Hazlewood being ruled out of the second Test due to a side strain. His spot in the playing XI would go to one among Jhye Richardson and Michael Nesser with the former being frontrunner for his ability to swing the ball at a raw pace.

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The Ashes | Ben Stokes allays injury concerns, reassures fitness level before Adelaide Test

England all-rounder Ben Stokes has come forward to ally apprehensions about his fitness leading up to the second Ashes Test starting December 16 in Adelaide. He was seen hobbling after running hard and diving to stop a shot of David Warner’s bat to go beyond the boundary line on the second day of the first Ashes Test played at the Gabba. Stokes said that the injury that appeared to trouble him in the Gabba Test was just a reflection of a stiff body due to prolonged absence from the game. He said that the injury is an old one and he has learnt to manage it by himself. "Having a long break is going to show itself I guess, but there are no excuses from me. People will have seen me rubbing my knee from time to time when I was in the field, but rest assured I'm fine,” Stokes wrote in his column for The Mirror. "It is an old injury that flares up every now and again, but I know how to manage it. It just gets a little bit uncomfortable every now and again in and around my cartilage, but it just looks worse than it is by the way I try and get off it as soon as I can." Stokes’ had an action-packed return to the action as he almost dismissed David Warner halfway through his powerful innings of 94 but only to be left frustrated by a no-ball call. The injury concerns surrounding Stokes would be the last thing England would be hoping to address before they take on the hosts in the Pink Ball Test in Adelaide.