Watch: In a painful moment at the crease, Ben Stokes was floored by a Marnus Labuschagne delivery that caught the inside edge of his bat before hitting him around the midrift during the Durham-Glamorgan County Championship fixture at Chester-le-Street.
Batting at six for Durham, Stokes had moved on to 33 when Marnus Labuschagne, bowling seam-up, pitched a short one outside off-stump. Stokes attempted to pull the ball, but only managed an inside edge.
Immediately, Stokes was seen lying flat on the ground, moving his legs around as he dealt with the after-effects of the blow. Labuschagne gave a little wave of compassion in his direction before walking away. Moments later, England’s new Test captain was back up, gingerly jogging around as he collected himself to face the next ball. Non-striker Ned Eckersley stood close, checking on his partner as Labuschagne headed to his bowling mark.
Stokes has looked in prime form in the Championship so far, having smashed a belligerent 88-ball 161 against Worcestershire last week. Shortly after copping the blow off Labuschagne, Stokes passed 50 for the second time in as many innings.
Watch the moment here:
Man down 😬
Ben Stokes is floored after inside edging a Labuschagne short ball into the unmentionables#LVCountyChamp pic.twitter.com/0y3bAxCIBo
— Vitality County Championship (@CountyChamp) May 12, 2022
