Ashes 2021-22: England star Ben Stokes decleration of intent changes everything about the Ashes.
Ben Stokes’ ordinary performances are good enough but it is the fear of the extraordinary which will make the Aussies nervous.
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The street-fighting all-rounder is the most cherished, the least sighted and the most dangerous player in the game. Make no mistake, Ben Stokes declaration of intent changes everything coming into the Ashes.
It is great for the contest, a little unnerving for those whose moods rise and fall with Australia’s success or lack of it.
Like Ian Botham before him, Stokes has the ability to change the course of a game through an intimidating mix of will and muscle power.
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Few can reduce an opposition to the states these two have on their day(s).
Stokes averages, like Botham’s, give fair reflection of the broad sweep of their careers, but none of the real impact. Here is a man who averages 38 in Ashes Tests, 36 with the ball. Similar to his numbers across the 58 Tests he has played against other nations. Botham tracked in similar areas.
It is in the outliers – like the third Test of the 2019 – that haunt with players like Stokes. A neighbour’s usually placid pet needs only bite you once to ensure you are never quite comfortable in its presence again.
With a Stokes or a Botham it is as much about what they can do as what they do.
Australia bottled it in the face of Stokes aggression in Headingley. Was it anything other than panic that saw a simple return run out botched in such an abject manner? A referral wasted by clouded, anxious minds? Even the umpires seemed unwilling to halt the inevitable charge.
A monumental mistake was made when that LBW against Stokes was not given in the penultimate over given England had a referral up its sleeve and Australia did not. Similar good fortune occurred in the World Cup final when an umpire awarded four extra runs from what should have been a dead ball.
All minds were muddled – with the sole exception of Stokes’.
There is an irresistible momentum that can possess bowler or batsman in an innings, but an all rounder can build it with one and finish it with another as Stokes did that day in Headingley.
It’s as if the player can bend the world to their will. You see it in all champions and its magnificent to behold a human being so in control of their domain.
Most remember the indomitable batting in the fourth innings from Stokes in that game. And why not, he was imperious, nothing could touch him, it was if he’d made a pact at the crossroads the consequences of which have never really revealed themselves.
It was, however, his indefatigable bowling which kept England live at Leeds.
He played an abject shot in the first innings when England posted just 67 and the game was slipping away when he began his extraordinary spell during Australia’s second turn at the crease.
Stokes essentially bowled 24.2 overs without rest. Joe Root had given him a break and re-introduced Jofra Archer after eight, but the quick cramped badly four balls into his first over and Stokes returned from the briefest of rests to resume his work.
In his 13th over, when Australia was 267 in front with six wickets in hand, Jonny Bairstow dropped an edge from Marnus Labuschagne.
Still he laboured on and in his following over, Matthew Wade gloved a chance which the keeper held on to.
The all-rounder had forced them back into the outskirts of the game, but it not even the most optimistic England gave them much hope – even when Tim Paine fell for a duck three balls later.
Stokes was still bowling unchanged when the last wicket fell and Australia’s lead stood at 358. His figures of 3-56 give no credit to the effort which seemed so vain at the time.
CricViz reports it as the longest spell by a pace bowler in international cricket since 2006, but his job wasn’t even half done.
Like the best of bands the all-rounder can play both kinds of music: country and western.
Stokes was superhuman in that match but in a way it is reassuring for the swelling ranks who struggle with the ordinary to read him acknowledge his mental and physical fragility in recent times.
“I feel much better about everything from my finger to my mental wellbeing,” he said in the newspaper column where he declared his availability,” he said.
“I know I can focus once again on playing my best cricket Down Under this winter.
“I probably didn‘t realise just how much of an issue the finger was causing me until I got it sorted the second time around. But I had also been struggling with bubble life and events off the field. I don’t want anyone to feel the way I did, because I wasn’t in a good place and I’m not afraid to admit it.”
He missed the last Ashes here due to the fall out from an ugly street brawl and the series was poorer for that.
His availability for this series has added some sizzle to the summer and reframed the contest. If you were Australian you would rather him on your team, but if you are a cricket fan you rejoice that he is in the series.
‘I was in a dark place’: Stokes reveals mental anguish
Ben Stokes has revealed he was in a “dark place” over the summer but is now “buzzing” to be back with the England squad for this winter’s Ashes.
The 30-year-old was not named in the original squad for the tour to Australia, having taken an indefinite break from cricket in July to focus on his mental health and recover from a finger injury.
Stokes had a second operation on his left index finger this month and has now been given the all clear by the ECB’s medical team to join the squad. He will fly out next week along with those who are not playing in the T20 World Cup.
Joe Root, the England Test captain, tweeted his delight at the return of “one of the greats . . . and an even better bloke”, while Stokes said Root was thrilled to hear from his star all-rounder that he would be with them for the Ashes.
One of the greats as a cricketer and an even better bloke. Welcome back my friend â¤ï¸ https://t.co/FleT7eDjxu
— Joe Root (@root66) October 25, 2021
“Rooty’s reaction when I told him was simply, ‘Oh bloody hell, that’s good,’ ” Stokes said.
“He said it was great to hear me sounding so well and that is the truth of it. I feel much better about everything from my finger to my mental wellbeing. I know I can focus on playing my best cricket down under this winter.”
Stokes missed the summer’s Test series against India and is absent from the T20 World Cup.
He broke his finger playing for Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League in April and the initial surgery left him with constant pain throughout the summer. However, after successful surgery to remove scar tissue, Stokes was finally able to grip a bat with comfort and started hitting balls again two weeks ago.
“I probably didn’t realise just how much of an issue the finger was causing me until I got it sorted the second time around,” Stokes wrote in his column for The Daily Mirror.
“But I had also been struggling with bubble life and events off the field. I don’t want anyone to feel the way I did because I wasn’t in a good place and I’m not afraid to admit it.
“I was in a real dark place and having some difficult thoughts. I was always one of those people who wouldn’t talk about how they are feeling and just keep it internal and crack on.
“I now realise talking is such a powerful thing and it has completely changed me. Talking to my wife, talking to friends like Rooty, it has really helped, as too the professionals I have worked with.”
Stokes also revealed that he was awake during the recent operation.
“My ligaments and tendons had been glued down from the scar tissue that had grown. Doug (Campbell, Stokes’s surgeon) illustrated it using the neck tie he was wearing and I was then able to see exactly what he meant during the surgery because I was awake and could watch the whole thing.”
Brad Haddin, the former wicketkeeper, said of Stokes’s return: “And now the theatre begins. This is what you want: the best players playing in the Ashes.”
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England Ashes villain makes shock tour call
- Ben Horne
Ben Stokes is coming for the Ashes and says he’s ready to take down Australia.
In a massive bombshell, the England superstar and Australia’s arch-nemesis has decided to make his comeback from stresses with his mental health for the biggest series of them all.
Stokes hasn’t played cricket since July, and has also only just recovered from a serious finger injury that required surgery.
But Stokes has declared he’s “ready.”
“I had a break to prioritise my mental wellbeing and I got my finger sorted,” said Stokes.
“I am looking forward to seeing my mates and being on the field with them. I’m ready for Australia.”
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The all-round great produced one of the most incredible Ashes moments in history in the 2019 series when he brought England back from the dead to break Australian hearts at Headingley.
His addition to what was otherwise a ropey looking England squad will suddenly have Australia instantly nervous.
Stokes’ is the kind of player to even the gap between the two sides on Australian soil, given his match-winning ability with bat and ball and his absorbing competitiveness.
Australian star Nathan Lyon declared last week that he was expecting Stokes to come out – and he’s been proven right.
Fellow Australian bowler Josh Hazlewood said he too was hoping Stokes would come.
“Absolutely, you want their best team here, so I’m happy if he comes out,” said Hazlewood.
“He’s a class act, so if it strengthens their team it’s all the more competitive.”
After initial fears England was going to be without their stars for this summer due to COVID restrictions, they are now full strength aside from the absence of fast bowler Jofra Archer.
If Joe Root makes runs at the top and Stokes can fire with bat and ball, England might be able to worry an Australian team that are a long way from the finished product.
England cricket director Ashley Giles said picking Stokes was not a risk and was not pushed to tour Australia.
“Following a very successful operation on his finger and several conversations over the last few weeks between Ben and I, our medical staff and his management team, Ben called me to say he was ready to return to cricket and was excited about the prospect of playing a significant role in the Ashes series,” said Giles.
“Time and time again, Ben has demonstrated how important he is to the England team and having him available for the Ashes series is excellent news for all of us and in particular Chris (Silverwood, coach) and Joe and the rest of the players.
“Having not played for some time, we will move forward cautiously over the next few weeks to ensure he is fully prepared across all facets of his game.
“Ahead of a very busy period of cricket, we continue to remain mindful of the stresses on all our personnel, and our primary focus continues to be the wellbeing of all our players and support staff.”
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