Ashes 2021-22| ‘I couldn’t breathe, though this might be the end’ – Ben Stokes reveals scary choking incident

The Ashes 2021-22 is scheduled to begin with the first Test in Brisbane from December 8. England all-rounder Ben Stokes will make a comeback to international cricket afte, after having taken a break from the game to concentrate on his mental well-being. 

On Sunday, he revealed of a scary incident, which he almost thought to turn out fatal ahead of an important series. The all-rounder looked back at the moment when he nearly choked on a tablet and thought that it could be the end for him.

“It has been a bit of a journey to get here, but it is great to be in Australia preparing for the first Ashes Test next week... although I seriously wondered whether I would make it,” Stokes wrote in his columns for The Daily Mirror. “Not because of the injury to my finger, which is coming along really well, and nor was it because of my mental well-being, which is also in a good space.”

“It was actually down to a simple tablet that went down the wrong way, and got stuck in my windpipe causing me to choke horribly before the glands in my face went into overdrive to flush it out. Until it actually came out, I thought this might be the end. We’ve all had those moments when something gets stuck in the throat, and usually someone can help you out.”

“But I was on my own in my room and I couldn’t breathe as it became lodged and started to dissolve. It felt like my mouth was on fire.Without going into too much detail I have never seen as much saliva as I did on Sunday morning, it was a genuinely frightening experience. The team doctor came to see me straight away and she explained what had happened with the body reacting the way it did. I’m glad it did, even though I was a mess.”

Stokes also narrated an incident from the training session, which threatened him of having suffered a broken arm after being hit while facing batting consultant Jonathan Trott in the nets, before the medical team cleared him.

“After all the drama of the morning, I was happy to get a bit of training in later on, but then came another scary moment as I got hit on the forearm by a ball from our batting coach Jonathan Trott. I was in agony, and I couldn’t lift it thereafter. I thought it was broken,” Stokes wrote.

“Thankfully the pain and reaction settled down once I was back in the dressing room and the physios could be sure it wasn’t actually a break.”

“It was only after I got back to my hotel room that I took stock of what a day I’d had. The adrenaline had worn off and I was exhausted. Happy that I’m here to tell the tale, but hoping that my pre-Test dramas are now over.”

Stokes has scored 4631 runs in 71 Test matches at an average of 37.04, and has bagged 163 wickets at 31.39. He was England's Player of the Series when they'd drawn the 2019 Ashes 2-2 at home.