England newcomer Olly Stone may not relish his new nickname “Enzo” but the paceman is eager to hit top gear on his maiden tour of Sri Lanka.
The uncapped 24-year-old enjoyed a dazzling season for Warwickshire in 2018, regularly breaching 90mph and becoming a prolific wicket-taker across all formats.
In seven championship games alone he took 43 scalps at 12.20, averaging a wicket every 22.3 deliveries. National selector Ed Smith saw enough in the seamer to believe he was playing a couple of notches below his level in Division Two and handed him a place in the forthcoming one-day series, as well as the subsequent Test contest.
Although he will be a rookie in both squads, hopes are unabashedly high that he can become the authentic fast bowler which was conspicuously lacking during last winter’s Ashes.
Stone’s director of cricket at Edgbaston, Ashley Giles, has urged England to take a cautious approach with a player who spent 18 months in recovery after snapping his anterior cruciate ligament in 2016 and settled on a colourful metaphor when news broke of his call-up.
“He’s a Ferrari,” said Giles. “If you’re expecting Olly to play every day and be at it, he’ll break down.”
The comment quickly made it back to the dressing room and, although he would rather shed the tag, Stone is happy to indulge England’s need for speed.
“There’s been a few little jokes with the Warwickshire lads calling me Enzo but hopefully it won’t stick,” he said after joining up with his limited-overs team-mates in Colombo.
“I just try to run in and bowl as quick as I can all the time, which can be my downfall at times. But I guess it’s what got me here and it’s something I don’t want to go away from. I will go out there and give it my all.
“At (Vitality Blast) Finals Day last year I was in the low 90s but I don’t really take too much notice, I just run in, let it go and hopefully it will come out well.
Simply being on tour with England represents a considerable triumph for Stone, who admits to experiencing “dark times” in the depths of his injury hell.
He was in the final year of his contract at Northamptonshire when he exuberantly celebrated the wicket of Moeen Ali, one of his new international colleagues, and suffered serious problems.
The initial ACL damage was aggravated by his attempts to bowl on, causing additional cartilage issues, and he feared for his career before two major operations put him back on the right track.
The Bears won a packed race for his signature and with form returning at a swifter rate than fitness, he now has the chance to establish himself on the big stage.
“There were a few dark times along the way,” he said. “When it first happened they said I might never get back to where I was before I was injured, so for Warwickshire to take me on was great and all the support they’ve given me is something I’m very grateful for.
“My knee’s all good and the other little niggles that come with it are all to do with fast bowling. I feel good and my body’s ready.”
The flight to Sri Lanka also provided a chance for Stone to reconnect with Moeen, who was present at his lowest ebb and now his proudest moment.
“The big injury was a freak one, doing it celebrating wasn’t a highlight. We actually had a little chuckle about it on the way here,” he said.
“Mo said ‘it must have been a good wicket for you to do that!’ It’s something I can have a little laugh about and it doesn’t faze me at all.
“I never would have thought I’d be in one squad, let alone both. It’s amazing. At the start of the year it was just good to be playing cricket again.”
