‘Very weird’: England blasted for ‘damaging’ Ben Stokes management

The England camp has copped criticism for its “damaging” management of superstar all-rounder Ben Stokes during the Gabba Test.

Ben Stokes of England. Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

The England camp’s management of Ben Stokes has come under scrutiny after the all-rounder bowled under an injury cloud on day three of the Gabba Test.

Stokes has returned to Test cricket following a six-month break from the game, during which he recovered from a finger injury sustained during the first leg of the Indian Premier League and focused on his mental health.

The 30-year-old was dismissed by Australian captain Pat Cummins for five on Wednesday morning before clean-bowling David Warner off a no-ball the following day. It was later revealed that Stokes had delivered 14 no-balls on Thursday, most of which went undetected due to technical issues.

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During the 29th over of Australia’s innings in Brisbane, Stokes jarred his left knee while fielding near the boundary rope, limping off the ground at the next break.

He bowled another four overs on Thursday off a short run-up following the injury scare, finishing the day with underwhelming figures of 0/50 from nine overs.

“Obviously Ben has hurt himself on the field today, so he didn’t bowl full pace at the back end of the day,” England’s bowling coach Jon Lewis told reporters at stumps.

“Think our medical guys will assess him overnight and see how he is. Other than that, the guys are okay.”

ASHES LIVE BLOG: Gabba Test day three coverage

Ben Stokes of England. Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images

On Friday morning, England revealed that Stokes would be available to bowl if required on day three of the Gabba Test, and the right-armer was brought into the attack after 45 minutes of play.

Stokes has taken 163 Test wickets at an average of 31.38 and is a more than handy fifth-bowling option for Joe Root — but several cricket pundits questioned whether it was worthwhile exposing him to further damage.

Triple M commentator and former Middlesex captain Isabelle Westbury tweeted: “Ben Stokes bowling now is up there with one of the stupidest things I’ve seen on a cricket field. And there have been many. Helps no one. Bar Aus.

“I worry that England (and Joe Root as captain) play, act and select in a way that they think they should be seen to be playing rather than what is actually the best thing for the side, short and long term. It’s a very weird (and damaging) psychological hangup.

“(Root) hasn’t got many options, but this is the worst of them. The way in which Stokes has been walking, running in & generally holding himself around the park — not fit. That he’s bowling is more bravado than any acumen.”

Former Australian batter Matthew Hayden said on Channel 7 commentary: “They’re going down like flies at the moment, they are being held up by thumb tacks.”

England great Ian Botham continued: “You never know with Ben. He is tough and he’s of northern stock, with a rugby league background. And I don’t think he is injured, I think he had cramp and that showed, he bowled well again today. He’s definitely got to be fit… for the next game.”

Ben Stokes bowling. I imagine this will end well.

— Will Macpherson (@willis_macp) December 10, 2021

Due to a technological fault, on-field umpires were once again required to check for front-foot no-balls in Brisbane. Although the onus had been put back on the officials, radio presenter Gerard Whateley blasted Stokes for repeatedly failing to adjust his run-up.

“First thing I want to say is it was grossly unprofessional by Ben Stokes,” he told SEN Breakfast.

“The first layer of fault is with the professional athlete, that is mind-boggling and speaks of the lack of cricket he’s played, but not to be able to make the adjustment, bizarre.

“The ICC are the second layer, what about them. They knew the technology had failed in the lead-up, but they didn’t tip their hand, they were going to try to get away with it.

“Oh, come on. Just say before the Test, ‘This is what’s happened, so we are going to have to revert to our old systems’, which probably sharpens the minds of the two umpires in the middle.

“(With the umpires) there’s no diligence around the front line anymore because it’s been trained out of them and they weren’t able to snap back to it, and that’s not great, especially when Ben Stokes is doing it so often.

“So, the layers of failure in that are just ludicrous.”

Australia was bowled out for 425 on Friday, boasting a first-innings lead of 278.