In an internal interview with the England and Wales Cricket Board, the 34-year-old all-rounder remarked: “I took one right in the face. It was pretty nasty but, oddly enough, it’s probably the best outcome from a bad situation, to be honest.
“If I had shifted my head just a couple of inches in either direction, I might not be here giving this interview. All things considered, even though I underwent significant facial surgery to fix it, it was a bit of a mess… I’ve come away quite lucky. So I’m really thankful for that.
“Obviously, this set everything back by about a month and a half, in terms of getting ready to play at the onset of the season for Durham. But I just had to quickly return to the drawing board and devise a plan to prepare myself for a couple of games for Durham before the test summer begins.
“Now I’m at the tail end of that experience, but it was quite a frightening situation. Thankfully, I’m still here and everything is okay.” Stokes is anticipated to be ready to lead his country in the first test of the English summer against New Zealand at Lord’s on June 4, as they aim to recover from a 4-1 Ashes defeat.
He mentioned that the criticism directed at the team regarding its preparation, performances, and conduct in Australia was challenging, but he is not avoiding it.
“I believe much of it was justified,” he said. “Some of it was presented in a rather extreme manner, but if you delve deeply into it, you’ll find agreement with some parts.
“That said, some of it felt a bit harsh and unnecessary; it was as if the knives were out.
“We have to accept it because performing like we did in Australia disappointed many, and I would say that the term ‘unacceptable’ comes close considering we are a significantly better team than that.
“All in all, it was quite tough, and we, as players, as a team, and as an organization, have to take responsibility. These are lessons we need to learn from.”
