England Test captain Ben Stokes has revealed he feels 'lucky' to have escaped serious injury after being struck in the face by a cricket ball during a training session with Durham's academy players in February. The incident left Stokes with a broken right cheekbone and other facial injuries requiring surgery.

Stokes is now on track to return for two County Championship games next month, though the accident set back his preparations by about a month. 'Pretty nasty but, funnily, probably the best result of a bad situation,' Stokes told the ECB. 'All things considered, although I had pretty major facial surgery, I've got out quite lucky.'

The 32-year-old is expected to lead England against New Zealand at Lord's from June 4 as they look to bounce back from their 4-1 Ashes defeat. Stokes also dismissed reports of discord with head coach Brendon McCullum, insisting disagreements are healthy and that they agree '95 per cent of the time.'