Source :- THE AGE NEWS
Ben Stokes has imposed a booze ban on himself ahead of the Ashes tour after deciding that his drinking may have contributed to a recurring hamstring injury.
Now 33, Stokes revealed overnight that he has not touched alcohol since January 2 as part of his rehab. Stokes tore his hamstring in the Hundred last year and then re-injured it during a Test tour of New Zealand, requiring surgery.
Ben Stokes grabs for his hamstring in New Zealand in 2024.Credit: AP
In the aftermath of that injury, which raised doubts about Stokes’ ability to keep playing as a seam bowling all-rounder, he has reassessed his relationship with alcohol. England need Stokes at his best and fittest if they are going to be any chance of changing a dire recent record in Australia.
“After my first major injury, I remember the shock of it, after the initial adrenalin 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’,” Stokes told the Untapped podcast as he unveiled a partnership with zero alcohol spirits company CleanCo, for which he has signed on as an “investor and brand partner”.
“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’.”
Cricketers have traditionally enjoyed drinks after play and particularly after winning a game or series, but times are changing. Travis Head revealed in January that he swore off alcohol for the home series against India to help Australia win 3-1, and fast bowlers in particular are now known to be much more selective about when and how much they drink.
Nevertheless, Stokes’ latest pivot is intriguing in the context of Bazball, as he and coach Brendon McCullum have both espoused the benefits of social drinking as part of the team’s more relaxed culture.
“When I was younger the relationship I had with booze was that I could never see the point of having a couple. It was all or nothing,” Stokes said. “Whereas now I don’t want to get into that state. Having huge nights out, the process to get there is the fun bit but then, wow, that was a waste of two or three hours. I can’t remember what I did.
“It used to drive my wife Clare mad that I would just be all or nothing. If we’d go for a nice dinner, I never really understood why it was so frustrating to her but all she wanted to do is share a glass of wine with her husband.
“I never used to worry about having a big one because I didn’t know what a hangover was until I was like 28, but now I understand that alcohol isn’t going to help me perform better.”
In 2018, Stokes was found not guilty on a charge of affray after getting involved in a fight outside a Bristol nightclub. In court, he had denied being drunk, but told the jury he had had three to four beers, six vodka and lemonades and “a few Jagerbombs”.
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