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To be fit and fire all cylinders for England this summer, Test captain Ben Stokes has discarded alcohol during his latest injury rehabilitation.
After tearing his left hamstring in New Zealand back in December, Stokes is set to return to lead England in their upcoming one-off Test against Zimbabwe, scheduled to begin from May 22 at Trent Bridge. Stokes returned from a similar injury last year, but this time around, he has been careful and is focused on leaving no stone unturned to regain his full fitness before England engages in a jam-packed Test summer. Speaking to the UNTAPPED podcast, the 33-year-old said, as quoted from Sky Sports, "After my first major injury, I remember the shock of it, after the initial adrenaline had stopped, thinking, 'How has this happened? We did have a bit of a drink four or five nights ago, could that have played a part? It wouldn't have helped'. Then I was like 'OK, I need to start changing what I do'. I don't think I'll ever be completely sober, but I've not had a drink since January 2." "I said to myself, 'Not until I finish my injury rehab and get back on the field'. I think the day I wake up and can't be bothered to do the training programme is getting towards that time you don't really want it any more. But I haven't got any interest in stopping. It's just getting harder to do everything. Hence why now I feel like I have to work so much harder away from the field, in the gym and all that kind of stuff to just give me the best chance of being out there to perform. But I'll keep going as long as I possibly can," he added. Stokes went on to describe how his relationship with alcohol has changed compared to his youth days and said, "The game is more demanding on the body than it was. There's so much more cricket, there's so much more in the schedule that it's just impossible for the body to be able to withstand all of that anyway without the downsides of what a couple of beers at the end of the day can do to you for the next day." (ANI)
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