In order to be fit and go all guns blazing for England this summer, Test captain Ben Stokes has quit alcohol while in his recent injury rehabilitation.
Having injured his left hamstring in New Zealand last December, Stokes is set to come back to captain England in their coming one-off Test against Zimbabwe, starting from May 22 at Trent Bridge.
Stokes came back from the same injury a year ago, but on this occasion has been cautious and is looking to leave no stone unturned in regaining his complete fitness prior to England playing a crammed 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 continued to explain how his life with alcohol has evolved with respect to his early days and said, "The game is more physical on the body than it used to be. There's so much more cricket, there's so much more in the calendar that it's just impossible for the body to be able to take all of that anyway without the negatives of what a couple of beers at the end of the day can do to you for the next day."
