Paul Farbrace, England’s assistant coach, has admitted Ben Stokes’s record-breaking Indian Premier League deal could prove a distraction during the upcoming one-day series against West Indies, but says Stokes’s England team-mates will keep his feet on the ground.
Stokes became the highest-paid overseas player in IPL history when he landed a £1.7million deal with Pune last week. Farbrace said: “Anything that goes on around a player or team can be a distraction. What you hope is that this is a tight enough group that when there are distractions good humour tends to deal with them.
“Stokesy has taken quite a bit of stick when he has got near to putting his hand in his pocket – everybody has piled in. That’s a good thing within this group. There is a lot of humour, they are good friends. When there are distractions around, they are quickly brought back to earth by their mates. That’s how it should be.”
Surrey bowler Tom Curran, 21, will join England tomorrow. He was summoned from the Lions Sri Lanka tour as cover for the injured Jake Ball.
