Ben Stokes is certainly enjoying the form of his life as he put up a sensational all-round performance in Manchester as England beat West Indies by 113 runs, levelling the series 1-1. With the series decider set to take place in Manchester, Stokes is expected to play a crucial role in guiding his side to a series triumph. However, England Head Coach Chris Silverwood has mentioned that the team management might decide to rest the new top-ranked Test all-rounder owing to his workload and a packed schedule ahead. Ben Stokes Becomes Top-Ranked All-Rounder, Jason Holder Drops to Second.

"We want him out there as much as we can -- everyone can see how good he is. But you know what, we're going to consider it (resting Stokes). He's been at the centre of the last couple of games now and we've got to make sure he's OK. But if he is fit and healthy and good to go, he'll play,” Chris Silverwood was quoted as per saying by news agency AFPBen Stokes Enters Elite List, Chris Woakes Reaches New Milestone and All Other Records Created at Old Trafford.

With 343 runs and nine wickets, Stokes is the highest run-scorer and wicket-taker in the ongoing Test series. Notably, however, the talismanic cricketer wasn’t able to complete his 15th over in the last innings of the previous Test match as he had to leave the field.

Silverwood also said that Stokes will leave no stones unturned to obtain full fitness for the final game but the management has to make sure that he doesn’t train too hard.

"He'll keep pushing himself, which is why he is as good as he is. But from a training perspective, we try and rein him in where possible and keep him as fit as a fiddle because I know we're a better team with him out there... We've got to look after him the best we can," added Silverwood.

After the assignment against West Indies, England are scheduled to lock horns with Pakistan and Ireland and the Three Lions will definitely want the services of Stokes. So, one might see Stokes warming the benches in the final game.

With Chris Woakes and Sam Curran in the team, the home side might take a risk of resting the top-ranked Test all-rounder. Apart from this, however, England have other selection headaches too. With Jofra Archer, Mark Wood and James Anderson being fresh for the game, it will be interesting to see what the English bowling attack will look like in the forthcoming game.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 22, 2020 09:40 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).