Ashes 2021/22: England all-rounder Ben Stokes breaks down as his body says enough is enough
No-one has given more to England’s cause in recent years than Ben Stokes, but injuries and dubious tactics have combined to leave him wincing in pain and a mere Ashes passenger.
Rory Burns’ dismissal on the first ball of the series withstanding, nothing sums up England’s insipid Ashes tour more than the sorry sight of Ben Stokes wincing in pain as he trudged off the Sydney Cricket Ground.
No-one has given more to England’s cause in recent years than the lion-hearted all-rounder, but he just hasn’t been up to the job this time, battling injuries and dubious tactics that have combined to thwart his effectiveness and run him into the ground.
Uncharacteristically, Stokes has been unable to make a real impact in this series with either the bat or the ball, with his agonising walk off the SCG on Thursday morning described as “broken” and ”sad.”
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His contribution with the willow so far has yielded just 101 runs, at an average of 16.83, from six visits to the crease.
And he has only managed to capture four wickets with the Kookaburra, at an average of 71.50 and a cost of four and a half runs an over.
Those numbers only tell half the story because Stokes just hasn’t been himself throughout the tour but it‘s little wonder because he’s a thoroughbred that’s been treated like a stock horse.
After he trudged off the SCG, former Australian wicketkeeper Brad Haddin told Triple M: “It doesn’t look good for England as Stokes walks through the members. He looks a broken man, actually.”
On BBC, ex England paceman Steven Finn chipped in with: “It’s a sad sight for England watching Ben walk off like that.”
Stokes wasn’t originally going to come to Australia after announcing he was staying in England because of complications with a finger injury and he wanted a break from cricket to focus on his mental health.
That he changed his mind and agreed to join a squad that had been given next to no hope of regaining the urn speaks volumes for his character, but it’s been an unhappy time.
Given the role of England’s enforcer, the fiery redhead has spent the past month bowling backbreaking bouncers to try and unsettle the Australian batters, including 25 gruelling overs in the first innings in Adelaide alone.
The tactics haven’t worked and the toll on his body has been brutal with Stokes succumbing to a side strain before lunch at the SCG Thursday, leaving the field clutching his ribs in clear discomfort after being unable to complete his 14th over.
He was assessed by England’s medical staff and eventually returned to the field but didn’t bowl again in the day and may well be finished for the series after he made no attempt to catch an edge from Cameron Green when he was fielding at second slip.
His teammate, fast bowler Stuart Broad, begged to differ, tipping him to make a quick recovery.
“He’s one of the toughest blokes I’ve ever met, the toughest cricketer I’ve ever met,” Broad said.
“For him to go off and not bowl, he’s obviously sore but he’s icing it at the moment.
“We’ve got no information on what’s happened in there but he’ll give it a rest tomorrow and 12 hours is a long time in cricket, so that gives the body quite a lot of time to heal so we’ll wait and see.”
Broad was the pick of the English bowlers, taking 5-101, after being recalled to the team following his surprise omission from the first and third tests, which England lost heavily.
The 35-year-old said he knew before the tour that he wasn’t likely to play in each match but admitted being left out fired him up.
“I always had in my mind that I might play two or three Test matches, not five, so I’d readied myself mentally,” he said. “But I can’t say I wasn’t disappointed I didn’t play in Brisbane and Melbourne.”
Asked whether England’s selectors had got it wrong and his selection might have made a difference to the series, the veteran paceman didn’t hold back, saying the bowlers weren’t to blame for England’s predicament.
‘It doesn’t matter what bowlers you play if you get bowled out for 140. That might be a bit brutal but that’s the truth in Test cricket,” he said.
Historical howler: How Poms lost Ashes with Broad ban
- Robert Craddock
It’s one of the cruellest fates in professional sport – to die wondering – and England have suffered it this tour.
English fans must have been torn between cursing and celebrating when Stuart Broad picked off David Warner in classical fashion with an outswinger delivered from around the wicket at the SCG.
Warner was well set but the ol’ in-and-away ball is a wicked piece of work to left-handers who find it harder to resist than a salmon trying to ignore a fly.
Warner did little wrong with a routine off drive but edged to slip for the 13th time Broad has dismissed Warner in Tests.
Thirteen. In man versus man confrontations in Test cricket it’s a massive number.
In the history of Test cricket there has only been three occasions when a bowler has dismissed an Australian more than 13 times.
The only English bowler to dismiss an Australian batsman more was seamer Alec Bedser who snared Australia’s decorated opener Arthur Morris 18 times.
Morris, however, used to carry a newspaper clipping in his wallet which mentioned he averaged more than 50 in the 21 Tests he played against Bedser.
Oh what might have been if this was the first morning of the first Test at the Gabba where, before play, Glenn McGrath congratulated Broad on notching his 150th Test before the England quick countered with “err, thanks but, I’m um … not playing.’’
Imagine if England had bowled instead of batting first in Brisbane and played Broad instead of resting him.
Would Broad have claimed Warner early under grey skies on a green deck?
Australia could have been 1-3 with Broad, a classical momentum bowler who can take two or three or four wickets in a heartbeat when the wind is under his sails, starting a surge which could have reshaped the Test.
The instant Broad took Warner’s wicket in Sydney it entrenched the Brisbane omission as an historical howler.
England didn’t have much going for them on this tour but they did have the Broad-Warner curse … and they wasted it.
Instead Warner, has had a fine series and Broad has played in the two Tests of least suitable wickets – Adelaide and Sydney – and missed the Brisbane and Melbourne Tests where he would have been most suited.
Not holding the Ashes when they landed in Australia, England were obliged to “kitchen sink’’ the first two Tests. The funky stuff could wait until Melbourne and Sydney.
They got it wrong but Broad and his old mate Jimmy Anderson will leave Australia with dignity and great respect.
They did the one great series win here together a decade ago and even if things turned sour after that they never stopped trying or dropped their heads.
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