ENGLAND captain Ben Stokes is ready to go hard at India again at Edgbaston, despite admitting last week’s epic win at Headingley left him “a shadow of my normal self.”

Stokes guided his side to a remarkable fifth-day victory in the first Test, a draining encounter that saw the hosts spend more than 200 overs in the field before conjuring a mammoth fourth-innings chase.

The skipper was operating back at full tilt after a long and arduous recovery from a torn hamstring, sending down 35 overs and taking five wickets along the way.

The experience took its toll on the 34-year-old but he expects more of the same when battle resumes in Birmingham today.

“I feel better now than I did Thursday and Friday. It was a big week,” he said.

“I used the three days after that game to offer absolutely nothing to the world. I was a shadow of my normal self. It just goes to show how much five-day Test matches take out of you.

“But I’m all over that how and ready to go [on Wednesday]. Let’s hope we can produce something similar again. Obviously going 1-0 is a good start, a very tough-fought victory for us and a long five days, but now it’s about getting back to zero and focusing again on the win here.”

Andrew Flintoff joined England at their final training session, the former captain and current Lions head coach offering tips to the squad as they made their closing preparations. Twenty-four hours earlier, local boy Moeen Ali performed the same role – coaching cameos that Stokes believes are invaluable to his squad.

“It’s been a constant thing for us, to get some of the greats who’ve represented England into the environment, helping out,” he said.

“It’s amazing how many good conversations you can have, you know, in a social environment. It doesn’t always have to be in a boardroom or around the table talking about specific things because those conversations that come out of nothing are just as important.

“The more times that we can get people like that into the dressing room and offering their advice to specific individuals is, you know, I think great for this team.”

The returning Jofra Archer was also in attendance, having missed Monday’s session due to a family emergency. England’s unchanged XI means the seamer’s long-awaited Test comeback remains on hold after four years of injury trauma, but he will spend the next five days working with the backroom team with a view to playing the third Test at Lord’s.

And for Stokes, seeing Archer with a red ball back in hand was a major plus and a reminder of his talents.

“Facing him in the nets there, he’s got the ball swinging quite nicely and there’s that effortless pace. It’s been a while since I faced him so it was a little bit of a wake-up call for me,” he said.

“But I think it’s great to have him back in the dressing room. It’s been a long time since Jof’s been in the Test environment. The last time he was in a Test dressing room was under a different regime.

“We all know he is an incredibly gifted cricketer. We’ve seen when he walks out onto the field for England. When he’s got that ball in his hands the whole atmosphere of the game changes, regardless of what situation he’s in.”