Captain Ben Stokes Is 'Exhausted' Yet Insists He's 'Ready to Bowl'

The team skipper Ben Stokes is reportedly "worn out" but still "fit and ready" to bowl, according to team coach Jeetan Patel, despite he did not bowl on the day three of a critical Ashes Test.

Stokes utilized a quintet of alternative bowlers as Australia progressed to 271-4 in their follow-on, establishing a substantial advantage of 356 runs at the Adelaide Oval.

The versatile all-rounder had earlier battled for more than five hours at the crease over two days to compile 83 runs in England's initial batting effort.

A Grueling Innings

During his marathon 198-ball innings, the 34-year-old was hit on the helmet by a fast bowler and suffered muscle cramps. He also required time off the field on Friday after banging his head on the turf while attempting a stop.

"He might be a little fatigued and just require some time to himself right now," stated Patel.

"From what I understand, he's pretty fit to bowl. I think he's just really exhausted and he's taken a lot out of himself to reach this point in the game."

Past Fitness Concerns

Considering his complicated injury past – Stokes has not been fully available in any of England's last four series – any indication the Durham man might be nursing an issue attracts considerable scrutiny.

Always keen to be in the thick of the action, Stokes' absence from the attack on Friday was puzzling given it was England's last chance to stay in the Ashes series.

At 2-0 down and needing to win in Adelaide to keep their hopes of winning back the Ashes intact, England had given up a first-innings deficit of 85 runs.

"All I know is he goes at 100%," remarked Patel. "If he thinks he can't do it at 100%, I don't think he's going to do it. That's likely where he's at."

The tourists could have stayed within the contest by dismissing Australia for around 240 in their second innings and had slim hopes at certain scorelines, only for the home team to pull away through Travis Head's not out 142.

Even though England delivered 66 overs, Stokes chose not to bowl.

"He abstained from bowling but that's perhaps a separate conversation with him," noted former New Zealand international Patel.

"I don't actually know. We all know he never performs at 80%. Maybe he thought he was a liability, so he didn't bowl."

Past Instances and Current Strain

The most recent occasion Stokes curtailed his own bowling was on the last day of the tied fourth Test against India at Old Trafford in July.

He afterwards missed the fifth Test at The Oval with a shoulder injury.

Stokes has a history of driving himself to its absolute limit, and it was put to Patel that the captain felt he might have risked injury if he exerted himself any further in Adelaide.

On the Brink of Defeat

England are on the verge of another loss in Australia, once again probably facing defeat inside the first three Tests of the series.

If the visitors' defeat is completed on day four, it would mean the outcome of the Ashes has been decided in just ten days – the first and second Tests were over in two and four days respectively.

Not since 1921, when Australia needed only eight playing days to win in England, has the victor of an Ashes series been determined so swiftly.

A Formidable Challenge

If a first goal is to extend this match into a fifth day, England will also have to pull off the highest successful chase at the Adelaide Oval to keep the series alive.

"I remain convinced there's an opportunity for us," said Patel. "It won't be easy, we're going to need something extraordinary. I think it's high time we saw something special from us."

"After three matches, we've thrown some but absorbed many. It's time, now we're backed into a corner, to throw some haymakers."