Stokes' latest injury scare adds to England's bad day

On a day in Hamilton that was already foreboding by way of leaden skies, England's troubles deepened well beyond their bleak position at stumps.

- Ali Martin

Ben Stokes, seemingly rejuvenated on this tour, walked off clutching his left hamstring, and as the hosts piled on a mountain of runs, questions about his viability as an all-rounder swirled.

Stokes busted a gut to get fit after tearing the same hamstring during the Hundred in the summer; an injury serious enough to miss the entire three-match series against Sri Lanka and then make a belated, subdued return in Pakistan. But back in the country of his birth, where a restorative series victory has been secured, the 33-year-old has been operating as a fully fledged fourth seamer and smiling widely with it.

Indeed, on the eve of this dead-rubber third Test, Stokes said he was "good as gold" regarding the rigours of performing the dual role. And as if to back up the point, he sent down 23 overs across just three long spells on day one; his heaviest workload in a single day of Test cricket and one where the speeds were up and the bouncers were abundant.

But as Kane Williamson marched to a 204-ball 156 that compounded England's sorry collapse to 143 all out 24 hours earlier, Stokes pulled up lame only two balls into his third over of the day. Thrashed for a straight four by Rachin Ravindra (44) and grimacing in his follow-through, Stokes instinctively reached for his upper left leg. He hobbled off the field with an angry look of "here we go again" on his face and did not reappear thereafter.