It's not typically you get to the eve of the Test summer time and an England captain likens himself to a Chelsea footballer. But such are the calls for on a contemporary cricketer like Ben Stokes, the comparability made sense.

Stokes has been again within the UK for 2 weeks and watched the Ravi Jadeja-inspired victory over Gujarat Titans on his telephone within the bar of the Royal Garden Hotel in Kensington, the place England are staying for the Ireland Test. He will doubtless bag a win bonus, too, and another extras the homeowners want to bestow upon the taking part in group after a fifth IPL title.

Perhaps Ledley King could be a extra correct England centre-back to attract parallels with, contemplating the place Stokes is at proper now. A Tottenham Hotspur legend, King was blighted by points to his left knee all through his profession, not too dissimilar to what the Test skipper has been coping with since 2017. King managed his subject by limiting coaching between video games. Stokes is following go well with.

Taking cues from the 40-year-old James Anderson, Stokes has opted to restrict his bowling between Tests. He has not bowled in any respect this week, believing there are a finite variety of overs left in a physique with rather more than its 31 years on the clock.

"Before I didn't have to worry about that," he stated on Wednesday. "I could just bowl and bowl and bowl and turn up pretty fresh. Now I'm probably not able to do that, so in between games is probably the most important bit of managing anything correctly.

"The factor about me is that I do not want a lot bowling for the remainder of my physique to tick over. I can have various time without work after which construct up fairly shortly. It's not doom and gloom if I do or do not bowl on this recreation."

Ben Stokes did not bowl during England's practice sessions at Lord's but is ready for action when required•Getty Images

Nevertheless, he declares himself fit enough to bowl at Lord's if required and to send down however many overs required of him throughout the Ashes, too. Even at face value, it is a huge improvement in attitude above all else. He was deflated by his knee at the end of February after the New Zealand series, and that in turn was affecting his batting. To go by his net sessions this week, that is no longer the case.

There had been fears before his IPL stint that Stokes would return from India more broken than before, but those did not eventuate. Instead, the lack of playing time meant he ended up using the world's premiere T20 competition as a glorified training camp.

"I feel I might a lot quite have been taking part in," Stokes said. "I've then seen that as a possibility to coach versus taking part in after which topping your self up because the event goes alongside. Once you get into the event it is like play, journey, all that type of stuff. So, I used to be truly in a position to flip a disappointing state of affairs right into a constructive one as a result of I used to be ready to focus on correctly with the ability to practice, whether or not that be technical stuff with the bat or health stuff, stuff within the gymnasium and with the ability to focus on one thing else.

"And that was a really good way to get through that long period of having something else to focus on, as opposed to being disappointed I wasn't playing. So looking back on it, you might say it's disappointing to only play two games but I was able to then do something else. Sitting here today, I'm actually thinking it could have been a blessing in disguise - every cloud has a silver lining."

The work put in is noticeable. Though you'd by no means say he was chubby - definitely to not his face - Stokes' extra pronounced cheekbones counsel he is again to the type of lean determine that marked his stellar 12 months in 2019. Considering a bowler of his tempo will put round eight occasions his physique weight by that troublesome left knee in the mean time of supply, it would assist him ship as a purposeful allrounder this summer time.

Given the sport's path of journey, you may regard Stokes' use of the IPL as a coaching camp as a crass victory for the diehard traditionalists, although solely a participant of his stature has the privilege to do such a factor. His lack of taking part in time won't have affected his inventory with CSK, who've an eye fixed on him main them sooner or later when MS Dhoni decides to name time. But they could assume twice about extending it on the identical phrases in 2023.

To have arrived again primed for the crimson ball, even in lieu of a run-out within the County Championship for Durham, means Stokes is one thing of an outlier, albeit a really particular one given his state of affairs. Ahead of a house season wherein the longest format is contemplating its very existence, as franchise competitions multiply and encroach on beforehand sacred turf, Stokes - a self-proclaimed "huge advocate of the Test format" -acknowledges each codes are up in opposition to one another. Though not essentially in a foul approach.

"The whole landscape and the whole game of cricket is literally just changing in front of everyone's eyes so quickly. I see T20 and Test cricket being able to keep being successful and progress side by side.

"Look at what T20 has finished for the sport on the whole, the quantity of attraction it is introduced, new followers, new gamers it is introduced into taking part in cricket whatever the format. And additionally what T20 has been in a position to carry by way of Test cricket. The transition between the 2 video games is so completely different however at sure intervals in Test matches you do see that T20 facet come out, which is barely as a result of the gamers have been taking part in it. So, I do not see a world the place T20 and Tests aren't being performed sooner or later."

He cedes that commitment to a brand of cricket reliant on ignoring risk and blue-ticking fear may be a little trickier given the excitement around the five-Test series against Australia just around the corner.

"It's arduous to disregard and never see," he said of the anticipation. "I do not know what this build-up interval earlier than the Ashes is like in comparison with 2005, no concept, it is very arduous to disregard and never be capable to see the thrill."

It is Ireland first, nevertheless. A one-off four-day fixture even the guests regard as a distraction given their very own larger carrot of June's World Cup qualifiers in Zimbabwe. A reminder that no matter trepidation there could also be of the brand new world, the previous one was removed from equal.

Vithushan Ehantharajah is an affiliate editor at ESPNcricinfo