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England Test captain Ben Stokes has revealed the reason behind giving up Alcohol after a string of injuries that cast doubts over his career as an all-rounder.
Stokes was ruled out of all three formats of cricket after suffering a tear during the third Test against New Zealand last December. The all-rounder underwent surgery on his left hamstring in aid of recovery.
Ben Stokes has yet to play a competitive game ahead of England’s packed summer. The three Lions’ summer begins with a one-off historic Test against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge on 22 May, marking the latter’s first on English soil in 23 years.
Now, Stokes has revealed the reason behind quitting Alcohol on a podcast.
”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,” he said.
“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 2 January,” he added.
The 33-year-old shed light on his training methods, stressing the hard work away from the field to yield the best out of himself.
”I said to myself: ‘Not until I finish my injury rehab and get back on the field.”
“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.”
England Test skipper further emphasized on contrasting cricketing cultures of the ’90s and 2000s, highlighting the physical fatigue on the body.
”In the 90s and 00s there were unbelievable stories [about drinking]. It’s definitely settled down a lot over the years. 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,” he concluded.
