New Zealand vs England: Captain Ben Stokes promises to dig deep and return stronger from latest injury

England captain Ben Stokes has promised there will be no "holding back" when he recovers from his latest injury problem, insisting he is ready to keep digging deep for his country.

Stokes was forced to watch the final stages of his side's 423-run thrashing by New Zealand in Hamilton from the sidelines, having pulled up with hamstring trouble while bowling his 37th over of the third Test.

He did not appear again, handing the captaincy reins to Ollie Pope in the field and deciding not to bat in a lost cause as England were finished off for 234 - barely a third of the way towards a vast target of 658.

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"No, I ain't holding back," Stokes said after the series finale at Seddon Park.

"I was obviously incredibly disappointed walking off the other day, I was very emotional about the whole thing. But you sleep on it, take the emotion out and realise that every time you walk out on the field as an athlete, you're putting yourself at risk of injury.

"I worked really hard to get myself in a position to play the role I did in this game and it's just sod's law that the first time in a while I feel like I'm young again, something happens.

"Every setback, I come back stronger. There's no doubt I'll be going away from here, working hard as I always do and getting myself back to where I was. That's my job.

"I literally can't say anything more until I hop in the MRI scanner and wait for the specialist's report, then we'll go from there. But we've got ages until we meet up as a Test team again."

Stokes' previous injury saw him miss four consecutive Test matches against Sri Lanka and Pakistan, his first absences since taking over as captain two-and-a-half years ago, but now England do not play Test cricket until May 2025 when they face Zimbabwe.

England still took the series 2-1, their first success in New Zealand since 2008, as they wrapped up their year with nine wins and eight defeats from a bumper 17 Tests.

England handed New Zealand their largest margin of victory in terms of runs in Tests, letting their final outing of the year slip away after being bowled out for 143 in the first innings.

"We hold our hands up, we're a much better team than we've shown this week. But we came here to beat New Zealand and what we set out to achieve, we've achieved," Stokes added.

"It's obviously disappointing to end the tour and end the year with a loss. I'm very happy with our 2024.

"We've had a lot of opportunities given to guys who have shown they have what it takes to deliver match-winning moments at the highest level."

Hussain: England are diminished when Stokes can't bowl

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Stokes has had his heaviest workload since 2022, bowling 66.3 overs in the away series against the Black Caps - his most in a single series as captain, which has raised concerns about whether he can fulfill his all-rounder duties.

"Because he is a captain and an all-rounder, he is so important to that team, but England are diminished when Stokes can't bowl and when he misses Test matches," said Nasser Hussain on Sky Sports News.

"I do think there needed to be a conversation in this Test match, about him bowling the 37th over when he's just coming back from a serious hamstring injury.

"Hamstring injuries at that age [33 years old] are recurring and you need him to be firing fit in the summer and next winter.

"At some stage, someone just needs to tap him on the shoulder and say: 'Look I think you've done your bit now. I think it's up to someone else just to carry a burden.

"The problem with England is that their other seamers were already also struggling and their speeds were down.

"[Brydon] Carse was carrying niggles, [Gus] Atkinson's speeds were down, and [Matthew] Potts was playing in his first game of the series."

England's Test tour of New Zealand

• First Test (Christchurch): England won by eight wickets
• Second Test (Wellington): England won by 323 runs
• Third Test: (Hamilton): New Zealand won by 423 runs

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