'Huge concern' over 'phenomenal' Ben Stokes escaping scrutiny as injury-hit England captain eyes Ashes opener

Much has been made of the fitness of Jofra Archer and Mark Wood as the two England tearaways prepare to crank the speed dial in Perth.

Perhaps less has been made of the fitness of Ben Stokes — England's Test captain and the player widely considered most important to the tourists' bid to snatch back the Ashes urn.

Former Australian Test skipper Tim Paine reckons the gun all-rounder's fitness is a "huge concern".

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Stokes was the pick of the English bowlers in the tourists' warm-up match against their second-tier side at Perth's Lilac Hill Park last week, claiming 6-50 in the first innings of the game.

But the 34-year-old is making a comeback from a shoulder tear that sidelined him for the fifth Test against India at the Oval over the UK summer.

He gave himself 35 overs with the ball at Headingley, 26 overs at Edgbaston, 44 overs at Lord's and another 35 at Old Trafford, forcing his right shoulder through such strenuous workloads that he was not fit to play in the series finale at the Oval which India won by six runs.

In 2024, he suffered two hamstring tears, the second of which required surgery.

And in 2023, at the completion of the 50-over World Cup, he went under the knife to address a knee issue that had plagued him for 18 months.

His chronic knee injury limited him to batting only over the back half of 2023, including three of the five Ashes Tests and the entire World Cup.

Speaking on SEN radio ahead of this summer's Ashes series, beginning in Perth on Friday, Paine hailed Stokes' star power but flagged his questionable fitness.

"Phenomenal player," Paine said.

"We're obviously missing our captain [Pat Cummins] and it leaves a huge hole.

"I think ... we can cover better Pat not playing [than England can cover Stokes].

"He [Cummins] looks really good in the nets at the moment, so I expect he'll probably play at the Gabba in the coming weeks.

"But I think Stokes' importance to England is even more so [than Cummins' to Australia] because he [has] not just his cricket ability, but that leadership and his want to attack, and he seems to be the type of captain and leader that makes everyone else better.

"So, his fitness is also a huge concern for them. They need him out there because of not just his batting [but his] bowling, and he's certainly a threat to Australia with bat in hand and ball in hand. We've seen that for a long, long time."

England is expected to snub off-spinner Shoaib Bashir and unleash a five-pronged pace attack in Perth, which is tipped to again offer extreme speed and bounce.

It's likely the old enemy's bowling attack will consist of Archer, Wood, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse and Stokes, all of whom can hit 140 kilometres per hour. Archer and Wood can exceed 150kph, and on a regular basis.

Stokes has taken 230 wickets at 31.64, including five five-wicket hauls, across his glittering 115-Test career.

"He's an amazing player, stands up in big moments and ... he makes other people around him better, so Australia will certainly be really watchful of him," Paine said.

As for the fitness of Archer, the "invisible man", as former Australian Test captain Kim Hughes dubbed him recently, has featured in only two Tests since February 2021.

He missed the entirety of the 2023 Ashes due to a stress fracture in his right elbow and has otherwise been hampered by a stress fracture in his lower back and a thumb injury in recent years.

Wood hasn't played a match since February, barring the hit-out England had against its back-up team last week, and hasn't featured in a Test since August 2024, amid a battle with a knee injury.

He sent a scare through the English camp when he complained of hamstring tightness on day one of last week's warm-up match, but at the age of 35 is set to turn out for his 38th Test.

"I think how we can handle Wood and Archer will play a big part of it," Paine said.

"How many Tests are they going to play? Are they fit?

"But if they're fit and firing — we saw Wood last time he was out here in Australia [in 2021-22]. I mean, he was by himself basically causing havoc, and Australia won that series 4-0.

"You put [out] another guy at that speed [in Archer] ... They'll complement each other really well.

"Archer is really tall and quick and bouncing, and Wood skiddy and [has] got real air speed, so they'll challenge them in different ways from different ends.

"It's going to be amazing to watch ... in Perth.

"If both those guys are fit and firing, they're the biggest threats, definitely, with the ball."