Agency :
Rory Burns had an inkling Ben Stokes might be on the plane for England’s trip to Australia but is nevertheless buoyant that the star all-rounder is on-hand to help their Ashes bid.
Stokes was initially omitted from the party to head Down Under as he focused on his mental wellbeing and fully recovering from a finger injury, which required a second operation last month to remove two screws and scar tissue.
The prospect of Stokes making a comeback this winter reached fever pitch as he filmed himself batting and bowling in the nets and, after being given the all-clear by his consultant and England’s medics, he made himself available.
The 30-year-old was duly added to the main squad and landed in Australia on Saturday with the Test specialists and supplementary England Lions group, all of whom have started a 14-day hotel quarantine period on the Gold Coast.
Speaking from his hotel room on Sunday morning, Burns said: “To get Stokesy back in the side, get back in the squad and back around things is obviously a massive boost for us.
“To get a bloke of his calibre back around our group is a real lift for us. I wasn’t actually that surprised (he was coming back), I kind of felt like something was bubbling away.
“It was nice when it was announced and it’s exciting because we wanted to get out here and get the best start possible and Ben adds to that in a massive way.”
England have an exemption to train at Metricon Stadium from Wednesday, albeit under stringent bio-secure protocols, and will then head to Brisbane later this month ahead of the first Test on December 8 at the Gabba.
Several of Australia’s Ashes hopefuls, including key fast bowlers Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, are still at the T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates and Burns feels that might benefit England.
Burns said: “It’s good for us that we’re going to manage to get our feet on deck first and be able to get out there and start practising and training and prepping for the big series ahead.
