Stokes merely a leap of faith away from his greatest test yet

WHAT kind of tour did Ben Stokes imagine for himself?

Reformed Stokes in Test audition

WHAT kind of tour did Ben Stokes imagine for himself?

After a testing experience Down Under with the Lions last winter, when he was sent home for disciplinary matters, he might have thought about keeping his head down, doing all the right things, impressing in the nets and in his limited opportunities in the middle and putting down a marker for the future. Jonathan Trott's departure has changed all that.

Stokes came with a late run for the tour. Chris Woakes, remember, had been picked as an all-rounder for the Oval Test match, along with Simon Kerrigan, but was quickly discarded. Stokes then impressed during the one-day series that followed, bowling sharply and looking the part with the bat towards the end of an innings, and on the basis of that limited exposure but also a fine season for Durham, to go along with a reformed attitude, he got the nod. The final place for an Ashes tour.

The selectors had begun to imagine and plan for a life without Graeme Swann. England's four-man attack, which has been at the heart of the recent successes in the Test arena, has been based in large measure on Swann's ability to be an attacking and defensive weapon, much in the way that Shane Warne was for Australia during their glory days. But Swann will not be around for ever and Monty Panesar looked a fading force in the summer with all his off-field issues, and the thought was that an absence of a world-class spinner might require a rethink.

A change of strategy, perhaps, and a move to a five-man attack. For that to happen, an all-rounder would be required. Step forward Stokes, as the all-rounder with the most potential in England.

These were tentative thoughts for a time in the not too distant future. But Trott's departure, England's heavy defeat at the Gabba, the ease with which Swann was neutered there and the Adelaide pitch, which is likely to be flat, have given more immediacy to his potential. He was the man England decided to put up in front of the press before the two-day match in Alice Springs. Should we read too much into that decision?

Clearly Stokes is in a three-way tug-of-war for Trott's place with Jonny Bairstow and Gary Ballance. Tim Bresnan, who took four cheap wickets for the England Performance Program against a Queensland XI on the second day of their three-day match, must come into the equation as well, although he will be eyeing up Chris Tremlett's place as a third seam bowler, rather than Trott's. It certainly gives an added incentive to perform against a Cricket Australia Chairman's XI in a two-day match that starts today (AEDT).

Pale-skinned but noticeably fitter, leaner and stronger than before last winter, Stokes was in no doubt about his readiness for the challenge. "If I thought to myself, 'I don't think I'm ready for this,' I'd be looking at it the wrong way," he said. "It's what every cricketer wants to be a part of. I f I didn't feel like I was ready, I'd be taking a long hard look at myself."

What did he make of his close proximity to Ashes cricket last week? "Even sat there on the bench over the four days the intensity was really high," he said.

"I got a buzz just sat there with the bib on running the drinks out. It was a great experience, the first time I've ever experienced it, and something that I'll never forget."

Which way will England go? Their recent experience with Kerrigan might make them reluctant to throw a debutant into such a vital game, which would put both Stokes and Ballance at a disadvantage to Bairstow, who showed his mettle against South Africa at Lord's in a match that had the kind of intensity closest to an Ashes encounter. Then again, the experience of the man they are replacing suggests that the selectors should not be afraid to be bold. Trott, of course, went into a critical Test against Australia at the Oval in 2009 and flourished immediately.

Whether he plays or not, England would dearly love Stokes to develop into the genuine article. They have not had an all-rounder of Test class since Andrew Flintoff retired. Stuart Broad is a bowler who bats, as is Bresnan. When asked about the strengths of each part of his game, Stokes was adamant that both strings to his bow are equally strong. If so - and there is nothing like the Ashes to sort the genuine from the fake - it makes him very valuable.

He was asked whether his New Zealand background - his father was a rugby league player for New Zealand and the family moved to Cumbria when Stokes Sr went to coach in England - would encourage Australia to dish out any special treatment for him. Given his broad Geordie accent, he thought not. At least his mum and dad, wintering in Christchurch, the city of his birth, will not have far to fly if the call comes.

The Times