Fears over Ben Stokes' injury after disastrous return of 14 no-balls and no wickets

England are concerned about the fitness of Ben Stokes after a nightmare return for the all-rounder on day two of the Brisbane Test. Stokes appeared to injure his troublesome left knee on a day when the match swung heavily in favour of Australia.

The tourists have played down fears over Stokes’ latest setback, but he was clearly in some discomfort during a gruelling day in the field.

Stokes’ left knee has been a persistent nuisance since he underwent surgery on it in 2016. On Thursday it appeared to be troubling him once more after he tumbled into the boundary during the first session trying, in vain, to save a four.

After bowling five overs in the morning session, in which almost half of his deliveries turned out to be front-foot no-balls including one which clean-bowled David Warner on 17 (see below), Stokes only managed four more overs during the rest of the day.

Stokes did not bowl at all during the afternoon session, and when he did return after tea, 61 overs in and at a stage when England’s remaining fast bowlers were starting to toil, he was hit out of the attack. Stokes conceded 12 runs in an over which saw his bowling speeds dip into the seventies.

Bowling coach Jon Lewis confirmed at the close of play that Stokes had hurt his knee on the field, but explained that England’s medical team would assess him overnight. It makes for a nervous wait for England, who find themselves already 196 runs behind Australia.

Further, with Jack Leach picked in the first Test ahead of Stuart Broad, Stokes is the crucial fourth seamer which England desperately need. Already England’s other quicks – Chris Woakes, Ollie Robinson and Mark Wood – have bowled 58 overs between them. And they still have three further wickets to get before Australia are bowled out.

Robinson, who impressed in picking up three wickets, has his own fitness concerns and had to leave the field for a period during the evening session gingerly clutching his hamstring. On returning for a final spell before stumps, Robinson’s bowling speeds, usually around the 80mph to 85mph mark, had dipped into the low seventies, as he struggled to get through the crease and drastically shortened his follow-through.

Robinson reassured England fans after play, however, telling BT Sport that he had only come off “for a bit of strapping and a bit of maintenance”, but that he felt okay. Nevertheless, it’s a worrying time for England, having already left out Jimmy Anderson for the first Test, in part due to some discomfort to his calf and fears over his lack of match preparation.

Stokes' no-ball controversy

On a day when nothing seemed to be going England’s way, even the technology sought to conspire against them.

Soon after Stokes' dismissal of Warner was overturned for a front-foot no-ball, it was confirmed that the technology meant to pick up overstepping had failed.

Neither Stokes nor any other bowler’s no-balls were being called until a wicket arose. In 30 balls bowled by Stokes in the morning session on day two, 14 were no-balls. Only the wicket-taking delivery was called as one, when Warner was on just 17. He went on to make 94.

Ecstasy turned to agony and then swiftly to bewilderment; how could Stokes, such an experienced Test cricketer, get his run up so wrong? Unprofessional as Stokes’ misdemeanour may seem, however, this shouldn’t happen, and it is the third umpire’s role to make sure of it. In the summer of 2020, the ICC sensibly decided that the off-field third umpires would call front-foot no-balls as soon as they arose.

“If it's someone upstairs who's supposed to be checking these, and they haven't decided that any of those are no-balls, it's pathetic officiating as far as I'm concerned,” fumed former Australian captain Ricky Ponting on Channel 7.

However, it was soon confirmed that the technology was not working, which meant that the on-field umpires had been forced to return to the previous playing conditions.

While it was soon confirmed that work was ongoing to have the no-ball technology available again as soon as possible, it was little consolation for either Stokes, or England, on a day in which nothing went their way.