England captain Ben Stokes escaped a horrific eye injury. The English Test captain has undergone successful surgery after suffering a serious injury. Earlier this month, a cricket ball had hit him in the eye. The star all-rounder took to Instagram to show off his bruised and swollen right eye and cheek after suffering a serious injury.
Ben Stokes had earlier posted on Instagram that he had been hit in the face by a ball, leaving his eye severely swollen and bruised. He also had injuries on his cheeks and lips and a bandage was placed on his nose. “You should see the condition of the cricket ball,” he said in his Instagram story.
Ben Stokes’ eye surgery was successful
“It may not look like it… but the surgery was a success,” Ben Stokes posted after the surgery. He has put up another post for young cricketers and batsmen to explain to them why batsmen play without a helmet when a spinner is bowling.
When it comes to spin bowling, I never understood it without a helmet because I used to throw down without a helmet.
After my accident last week and being seriously lucky as to the outcome I will never wear a helmet again, cricket balls cause serious damage!!!!
– Ben Stokes (@benstokes38) 15 February 2026
He said via X (formerly Twitter) that cricket balls can cause major injuries and should be handled with utmost care and caution. “I never understood the importance of not having a helmet when bowling spin because I used to throw down without a helmet,” Stokes wrote on Twitter.
Ben Stokes suggests cricketers should wear helmets even against spinners
He added, “After my accident last week and being seriously unlucky with the outcome, I will never wear a helmet again, cricket balls cause serious damage.” Batsmen are never safe when playing spinners, as the ball can hit their head and any other part of the cricketer’s face if the spinner bowls a bouncer.
Many cricketers have died from injuries, notably Phil Hughes, who was hit on the back of the neck by a Shaun Abbott bouncer despite wearing a helmet. Since then, helmet manufacturers have made sure to add an extra cushion at the back.
If the ball hits the helmet, the game allows the physio to run onto the field and check if the players are okay and have not sustained any injuries after being hit on the helmet.
Will Stokes captain England in the next series?
Questions are being raised on England’s Test captain after England’s disastrous 1-4 defeat against Australia in the last Ashes series. Under the leadership of Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum, England has won only 25 Tests in 44 matches. After an impressive start (14 wins in 19 Tests), form dropped to an 11–13 record in the next 25 Tests.
Baseball theory has not worked well in the traditional format of the game. As former English cricketers and cricket pundits have criticized the approach in the oldest format of the game.
Ben Stokes has retired from the white ball format and plays only one format. He has not played since the last Ashes series and will next feature in the upcoming Test series against New Zealand. Stokes hopes that he will be able to get his team back on track against the Kiwis.
Also read: Namibia’s Jan Frylinck and JJ Smit repeat Ajmal-Malik’s infamous fielding mistake in T20 World Cup 2026