Ben Stokes insists he is fit to bowl in the Ashes despite hobble at Lord’s

Two weeks out from the Ashes and there was an almost audible sharp intake of breath as England captain Ben Stokes winced and hobbled after taking a catch.

He appeared to wobble slightly on his often-problematic left knee and looked uncomfortable for the rest of the match, especially when diving around in the field.

Stokes did neither bat nor bowl during England’s 10-wicket victory over Ireland in their only Test match before the Ashes.

Forced to admit that he did not know what happened, Stokes maintained he will be fit to bowl at Edgbaston, when England take on Australia in the first Ashes Test of the summer.

“I bowled this morning for the first time in four weeks and I felt really good,” Stokes said.

“I was really happy with how I bowled. I bowled for about 20 minutes and I got through that really well.

“Obviously I have got time to build up before I push back into flat out but I just landed quite awkwardly when I took that catch.

“I didn’t quite see it so had to adjust myself and landed on my left leg and it twisted in a really strange way.

“It was fine, I just don’t know what really happened. It was one of those things, but I am 32 tomorrow so that probably explains it.”

Stokes may have been jovially dismissing the pain, but his knee caused all sorts of problems when England toured New Zealand in the winter and he was forced to play a very limited role with the ball.

"I’m building myself up, bowling in the warm-up was a first step, I’m happy with it, so I’ll just keep building it up now before Edgbaston,” Stokes told the BBC.

“I am definitely on course to bowl in the first Test."