Ben Stokes’s comeback for England delayed as rain washes out internal trial match

Star all-rounder Ben Stokes’s comeback ahead of the first Test of the Ashes series will be delayed further after day 1 of an internal trial game between England teams was called off due to rain.

Stokes had arrived in Brisbane on November 6 to begin a 14-day quarantine at a luxury Gold Coast resort with the first group of the England squad. The remainder of the squad, including Jonny Bairstow and Jos Buttler, arrived following a semifinal exit at the recently-concluded ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.

Stokes reached Brisbane’s Redlands Cricket Club on Tuesday to play for England for the first time since July in a three-day tour match against the second-string Lions squad. However, unfortunately, he did not get a chance.

England openers Haseeb Hameed (53 not out) and Rory Burns (38 not out) put on an unbeaten 98 before persistent showers resulted in stumps being called well ahead of schedule.

Stokes spent the lunch break practicing his bowling. Notably, Stokes was added to England’s squad last month after recovering from a finger injury and taking time away to prioritize his mental health.

The three-day game in the Redlands is the first of two warmups for England ahead of the five-Test series against Australia, which starts Dec. 8 at the Gabba.

Australia holds the Ashes, having beaten England in Australia in 2017-18 and retaining the urn when the 2019 series in England was drawn. The Australians are coming off a victory in the Twenty20 World Cup in Dubai but have had limited preparation for long-form cricket and are uncertain over who will lead the Test team.