Stokes doesn’t blame injury on workload as New Zealand beat England Cricket News

England captain Ben Stokes does not believe the heavy bowling workload he took on in the third Test against New Zealand contributed to the hamstring injury he sustained during the 423-run defeat.

The 33-year-old, who missed four Tests after tearing the same muscle during The Hundred in August, was ruled out of the match following the injury on Monday.

“Every time you go on the field as an athlete, you put yourself at risk of injury,” Stokes said in Hamilton after England’s defeat on Tuesday. “I’ve worked really hard to get to where I am in this game, especially with my body. It’s just Sod’s Law that when I feel young again for the first time in a while, something happens.”

Stokes scored 24 in New Zealand’s first innings and was two balls into the 13th innings of the second when he was injured – a heavier workload than England won in the first two Tests.

The all-rounder said he was extremely emotional after being forced off the pitch and asked if there was anything he could have done differently to avoid the injury.

“When you lay there and get the emotion out of it, you realize you’re always putting yourself at risk when you walk there,” he said.

“And that’s it. I tried really hard to get myself to play the role I played this game, and this is just one of the things that failed.

Stokes, who will undergo an MRI on the injury on Wednesday, said he would have batted on Tuesday if England were close to chasing down the monumental target.

England will not play the longest format again until the one-off Test against Zimbabwe in May, before a five-match home series against India in July and August.

“With the injury I got in the summer, I immediately saw that we have some time until the next Test series, and in this series we have an age until we meet again as a Test team,” he said.

“But I can’t go into too much detail until we know the extent of the injury. I certainly hope (to be ready to face India), it’s not too bad.”

New Zealand’s victory sent Tim Southee to victory in his final Test on home soil and was as consolation a one-sided victory as their losses in the first two matches of the series.

The Black Caps entered the series high on confidence after a stunning 3-0 win in India, only to be completely outclassed in more familiar conditions in Christchurch and Wellington.

At Hamilton’s Seddon Park, they rediscovered their mojo to claim their biggest win by runs, handing the tourists their fourth-worst defeat by the same measure in four days.

Recalled spinner Mitchell Santner (4-85) tore through England’s tail, scoring 76 and 49 with the bat, but it was a proper team win.

Kane Williamson could have claimed the honor for his second-innings 156 that took England’s victory target into world record territory, or Will O’Rourke for his dizzying spell of bowling on day one.

“Obviously it’s pleasing to finish like this,” New Zealand captain Tom Latham said.

“Obviously we knew we weren’t at our best in the first couple of games, but I think it was great to come here and be able to adjust to the surface.”

England, so dominant in the first two Tests, reached 234 after lunch on day four in an incredible chase of 658 runs to sweep the series.

It came quickly with England looking determined to fight back before the break, losing their last three wickets in 12 deliveries to add the last three runs.

Southee failed to add to his extraordinary tally of 98 Test sixes on Monday, but he took two wickets in his final innings to end his career with 391, the second-highest by a New Zealander behind Richard Hadlee.

“Obviously we’re leaving one of the greats behind, but I’m sure he’s got a bright future ahead of him, no matter what,” added Latham, who was front and center as Southee was felicitated by Hadlee after the match.

While the tourists were disappointed to end up with such a crushing defeat, there were some positives even in becoming the first England team to win a series in New Zealand since 2008 on Tuesday.

Jacob Bethell followed up his impressive start to Test cricket with his third half-century of the series before making 76 to become Southee’s final Test victim.

Joe Root reached his 65th Test half-century before being dismissed by Santner for 54, but Harry Brook failed to find the runs that had much impact on England’s victories in the first two Tests.

Brook, who was named player of the series for his double century and 350 runs, faced six deliveries for one run before O’Rourke was caught at slips with the kind of deceptive delivery that was fast becoming his trademark.

O’Rourke also dismissed Brook for a golden duck in the first innings during a spell that will reassure home fans that the future of New Zealand seam bowling is secure despite the retirements of Southee and Trent Boult.

Brydon Carse, Gus Atkinson and Matthew Potts did the same in the series for England fans still mourning the departure of James Anderson and Stuart Broad.

On Tuesday, Atkinson blasted 43 off 41 balls at a defiant rear guard with seven fours and a six, but the end was not long after he misstepped to deep cover.

“We want to come out and win every game we play,” Stokes said. “Obviously it’s disappointing as a team to finish the way we did, but … the first two Test matches were really important for us and that’s where we played our best cricket.”