He last played for England in September 2024.
England pacer Olly Stone has had a tumultuous Test career because of frequent injuries. Stone, who hasn’t played for England since September 2024, has been sidelined for a while because of a knee surgery he underwent earlier this year.
He eventually missed the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy against India which ended 2-2, but is hopeful of an England recall for the Ashes Down Under later this year.
Stone, who made is England Test debut against Ireland in 2019, has had a history of injuries, including a finger injury, and most recently an Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury. He returned to action in July, representing Nottinghamshire in the Vitality T20 Blast tournament, and picked up a wicket against Durham.
“Unfortunately, the start of this season didn’t get off to the way I wanted it with my knee injury, but I’m back now, and hopefully I’ll have a big next two months to see whether I can put my name in the hat for an Ashes call-up. I thought maybe that chance would never come again,” the 31-year-old told Wisden during an interview.
He had impressed in his Test debut against Ireland in 2019, registering figures of 3/29 from 12 overs. Later that year, Stone was set to make his Ashes debut at home, but the Warwickshire cricketer then sustained a lower-back injury that ruled him out of the entire series.
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“Unfortunately, when you bowl quick, I feel like the injuries that happen are more severe,” he said. “You sort of know that at some point you might pick up something, even if you do all the work away from cricket to make those injuries minor blips not major ones,” added the right-arm pacer.
A recurring back injury meant that Olly Stone could not play Tests for England between 2021 and 2024. This also meant that Stone missed the 2023 Ashes at home as well. In August 2024, Stone replaced the injured Mark Wood for the second Test against Sri Lanka at Lord’s. He collected two wickets in each innings.
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“It was a nice phone call to get when I received it,” Stone said about receiving a call from England head coach Brendon McCullum. “When you’re out of it, you think ‘is that my last game?’ And thankfully I was fortunate enough to play two games last summer and loved it. Not that I needed it, but it gives you that hunger for more,” he stated.
Stone has played just five Tests for England so far, taking 17 wickets at an average of 23.52. The Ashes series will get underway with Perth hosting the first Test from November 21. The Ben Stokes-led England are looking to win the country’s first Ashes series since 2015.
With the England pace attack currently in transition following the retirement of James Anderson in 2024, Olly Stone will surely do whatever it takes in a bid to make the Ashes squad. England recently drew a five-match Test series against India 2-2, with the fourth Test at Old Trafford ending in a draw.
While skipper Ben Stokes was impressive with the ball, taking 17 wickets from eight innings, a few others, including Brydon Carse (Nine wickets from eight innings) failed to deliver much with the ball.
Adding to their woes was a shoulder injury to all-rounder Chris Woakes. Woakes sustained the injury while fielding on day one of the fifth Test against India at The Oval. Although he did not bowl any further after that, he returned to bat during England’s run chase with a sling on his injured arm. England were looking to chase 374, but were eventually bowled out for 367.
