Newly-appointed England Test captain Ben Stokes has been floored by an Australian paceman in the County Championship, but probably not the bowler you’d expect.
The Durham all-rounder was left reeling on the ground in agony after copping a nasty delivery from none other than Marnus Labuschagne, who was bowling medium pace in the first-class contest on Thursday.
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Durham was 9/192 in the 59th over when Stokes attempted to pull a short delivery from Labuschagne through square leg, but the left-hander instead edged the Duke ball into the midriff.
The 30-year-old immediately collapsed to the deck and dropped his bat, moving his legs around to deal with the after-effects of the painful blow — Labuschagne offered a sheepish apology before Stokes gingerly returned to his feet a few…
