Brendon McCullum Provides Latest Fitness Update on Stokes, Wood and England Squad

England head coach Brendon McCullum gave an update on the fitness of captain Ben Stokes and fast bowler Mark Wood, saying he hopes both will be fully ready for the upcoming Ashes series in Australia. Speaking to the media, McCullum said both players are working hard on their rehab to get back to full fitness in time for the series.

"Stokesy is training as hard as ever. The last series he played was probably the best he’s had as captain. For us to be competitive in Australia, we need a fit, firing, and motivated Ben Stokes and he’s doing everything possible to get there,” McCullum said.

Stokes injured his shoulder during the fourth Test against India, which ruled him out of the final match. In his place, Ollie Pope took over as stand-in captain. Before getting injured, Stokes had been in excellent form, bowling 140 overs across four Tests and taking 17 wickets at an average of 25.24. With the bat, Stokes scored 304 runs in seven innings at an impressive average of 43.43 showing just how important he has been to the team.

Stokes’ fitness will be very important for England as they aim to win their first Ashes series in Australia since 2011. At the same time, the team is keeping a close eye on fast bowler Mark Wood. Wood has recovered from a knee injury he got during the ICC Champions Trophy in February. Wood is likely to play a red-ball game for Durham in the County Championship next week to show he is fully fit.

One player likely to play in the first Ashes Test against Australia is key batter Ben Duckett. England recently pulled left-hander and wicketkeeper-batter Jamie Smith from their T20I squad against South Africa to keep both players fresh for the tour to Australia Coach Brendon McCullum said the extra rest will help Duckett and Smith perform better when they arrive in Australia in November.

"I spoke to him (Duckett) and said 'I think you need to freshen up'," McCullum said.

"I'm in the racing game and not even Phar Lap (legendary Australian horse) can go around every week. Even he needs to go to the paddock occasionally. He'll have a decent break at home, as will Jamie Smith."

McCullum said he hasn’t decided on the team for the first Ashes Test in Australia yet. However, he mentioned that young talent Jacob Bethell could get a chance after scoring his first international century in an ODI against South Africa in Southampton.

“We will work that out when we get to Australia,” McCullum said about his first-choice XI. “We’ve got a few other things to focus on before then, but since we brought in Jacob, it’s clear he has a big future. He’s adapted to international cricket very quickly and things have moved fast for him. At 21, he plays really well and also has a good head on his shoulders. He’ll keep working hard, and we’ll see how it goes.”