Ben Stokes will discover the full extent of the damage to his right shoulder on Monday, with the all-rounder due in hospital for a scan after a sickening fall in the field on the first day of the third Test in Sharjah that left him writhing in agony.
Stokes, England’s best outfielder, appears a serious doubt for the remainder of the Test and there are fears over his fitness for the winter tour to South Africa which starts in December after he attempted a spectacular diving catch at square leg off Sarfraz Ahmed during the evening session.
Flying to his left when the wicketkeeper swept a full toss from Samit Patel through the air, Stokes hit the ground, with his right arm taking the brunt of the force. He immediately showed signs of distress and his England team-mates rushed over before the arrival of the team physio Craig de Weymarn.
After five minutes of treatment he was led from the field, with his arm supported by an auxiliary sling made from his shirt. An England spokesperson later confirmed Stokes was being treated by the medical team overnight before visiting a local hospital on Monday for scans that will show the severity of the injury.
“We all walked into the dressing room to find him after play,” said Stuart Broad at stumps. “If he shows pain it’s generally pretty bad because he’s a tough boy. The outfield is soft and he landed awkwardly. I don’t know if it popped out.
“He’s got it in a sling and he’s a bit down. I don’t now how bad it is – it’s hard to speculate. Hopefully he can play more of a part in this Test but we have a lot of options if he can’t.”
While England would not confirm whether Stokes had received treatment for a dislocated shoulder on Sunday evening, he is likely to have suffered ligament damage at least and, being a right-arm seamer, his ability to bowl again in the Test looks out of the question.
Stokes was due to fly home at the conclusion of the third Test anyway, having been slated for a period of rest during the one-day and Twenty20 series that follow. England travel to South Africa on 10 December, giving the all-rounder just over five weeks to recover if he is to make the start of the tour.
His injury leaves England with just two seamers, Broad and James Anderson, for the current match, although the inclusion of the spin-bowling all-rounder Patel at No8, recalled in place of the injured Mark Wood after a three-year absence, means they are batting deeper than in the previous two Tests.
Patel claimed two for 85 in 23 overs as Pakistan were bowled out for 234 in the first innings, despite suffering an injury himself when he appeared to dislocate the little finger on his bowling hand after fielding a ball struck back at him by the opener Mohammad Hafeez just two balls into his day’s work.
His Nottinghamshire team-mate Broad said: “Samit did really well, he got two wickets but he bowled a lot of overs. He showed patience and brought the stumps into play. His first [to remove Asad Shafiq caught behind] was a jaffa; it turned a long way.
“He is batting at No8 and that is fantastic with him averaging 38 in first-class cricket. He’s worked really hard all tour, bowled well in the nets and deserved his chance. I’m delighted he took two wickets and I’m sure he’ll be looking forward to bowling on that pitch in the third innings.”
Broad claimed two for 13 in 13 overs, sending down eight maidens and stringing together 48 successive dot balls at one stage. His strike partner Anderson has previously spoken about the satisfaction of wickets in Asian conditions but Broad, who took eight for 15 against Australia during the summer, is less taken.
He said: “Alastair Cook mentioned fielding and bowling here is a badge of honour – when you get the ball show no weakness and in the field, don’t show tiredness. We have taken that on as a group and it’s made us tighter. It’s always a good test on the subcontinent but I still prefer bowling at Trent Bridge.”
