Olly Stone is out to be England’s pace X-factor in his first Test appearance in three years after repeatedly battling back from serious injury woes.
As Mark Wood’s thigh strain has ruled him out of the rest of the series against Sri Lanka, England have turned to another express quick with a chequered injury history for this week’s second Test at Lord’s.
While Stone is touted as one of the fastest bowlers the country has to offer, he is by his own admission unlikely to rival the ferocious speeds Wood has sent down this summer, topping out at 97mph.
Stone, though, is capable of reaching 90mph and is quietly confident he can be a point of difference for England ahead of just his fourth Test outing – and first since June 2021.
“It’s been pretty frightening the way (Wood’s) been bowling,” Stone said. “Hopefully, I can go out there and try and touch his speeds. I’m not sure if I’ll match it but I’ll give it a good shot.
“Around 90mph would be nice. It’s something I’ve always had in my armoury, going out and providing that bit of extra pace, so hopefully I can go out and do that this week.
“I will try and bowl as quickly as I’ve got in the locker, some days it clicks better than others. I don’t put too much pressure on myself. It’s just going out there and being me.”
Stone in for Wood is England’s only change from the side that beat Sri Lanka by five wickets at Emirates Old Trafford last week, with the hosts bidding for a fifth consecutive victory this summer.
Whatever this week throws at him, Nottinghamshire’s Stone, who has taken 10 wickets in three Tests, has vowed to enjoy the next few days having spent plenty of time on the treatment table during his career.
He once ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament when celebrating a wicket, requiring surgery, while he has also gone under the knife in a bid to address injuries in his ankle, finger and back.
A recurring hamstring problem sidelined him for much of 2023 and wrecked his Ashes hopes but he insisted white-ball specialism that would have been easier on his body was only ever a last resort.
“Unfortunately with the nature of being a bowler, you are going to pick up injuries here and there,” Stone said. “It’s been disappointing (to be) stop-start throughout my career.
“I just love the feeling of coming off after a long four or five days, on the back of a hard-fought win. It’s something that white-ball cricket can’t give you.
“This year especially I’ve tried to just not look too far ahead. I love playing the game and I just knew that if I go out there and produce those performances, this call might come.
“Thankfully it has and I’m going to go out and enjoy every moment and play with a smile on my face.”
The biggest crossroads of Stone’s career was shortly after his most recent Test match in 2021 when a fourth stress fracture in his back led to him having two metal screws inserted to reinforce his spine.
An operation he accepts was ultimately a necessity was carried out at the Wellington Hospital, adjacent to Lord’s, where he is set to resume his international career and the venue of his Test debut in 2019.
“It was just for everyday life and if I even wanted to play club cricket, if professional cricket wasn’t an option, that I still had that chance to do so,” Stone added.
“There’s always that element of, is it going to work? It took me a good four or five months, to decide whether I was going to go down that route. It wasn’t an easy decision, but the best one I made.”
As well as frequent trips to the doctors and gym work, Stone has taken up pilates in his comeback, as he added: “It’s something simple which I feel has helped me get to this point.”
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