Stone: “There is no better feeling than pulling on that England or Warwickshire shirt”

Olly Stone's recovery from spinal surgery is on track after scans on the affected area "couldn't have looked any better."

Warwickshire paceman Stone has endured a deeply frustrating year after he was diagnosed with two stress fractures in his back. It was a huge blow for the 28-year-old who was a big part of England’s planning for the Ashes series in Australia this winter.  

It was not the first serious injury blow that Stone has had to weather and he admits this latest one did hit him hard. But the latest news is good and the Bears ace, whose resilience in the face of sustained injury trouble has impressed all who know him, is on the way back again – hopefully for keeps.  

“It looks like the operation went exactly to plan,” Stone said, “The surgeon said it couldn’t have looked any better. That’s brilliant news because I felt fine but until you get it confirmed by the guy who knows, there is always that little worry 

“I have started batting and done a few very low-level bowling drills just to get some movement and rhythm back. Now we can we start building up slowly. 

Olly Stone

“I have to admit, this time has been one of the hardest. I felt I had done everything people had asked me to do in terms of getting fitter and stronger and more flexible so when it happened again, it hit me pretty hard and I did question whether I wanted to do it all again. 

“But when it first happens, you don’t really think rationally. Once I got over the initial shock, of course I wanted to carry on. There might be a few frustrating times ahead when maybe I have to miss a match I want to play in, but it’s all about longevity. Hopefully this will be my last serious injury. 

“I love playing cricket, I love bowling and there is no better feeling than pulling on that England or Warwickshire shirt. We are very lucky to do what we do for a living. I treasure that – if I didn’t enjoy it so much, I think I would have walked away by now.”