Kennys still world class on return
FOR Ben Stokes, this was more than just another game. After so long in the wilderness, this was a first step on the road to redemption following five months of embarrassment, anguish and frustration.
England might not have won the Ashes with Stokes in their team but they certainly would have been more competitive in Australia with their star all-rounder among them, and without all the off-field distractions that resulted from the fall-out of that fateful September night in Bristol.
The 26-year-old will have his day in court later this year to answer the charge of affray to which he has pleaded not guilty.
On the cricket field, though, he has already started the healing process with a performance of such all-round brilliance that it must have left everyone, not least Stokes, wondering what might have been had he played in the Ashes earlier this winter.
England lost that Test series 4-0. But in one-day cricket they are an entirely different proposition.
Defeat in the opening ODI in Hamilton on Sunday, Stokes’s first game back, was just the fourth experienced by Eoin Morgan’s men in the past 12 months.
But this was an emphatic response, with Stokes leading the way with two wickets, two run-outs and an unbeaten 63 to help England chase down their victory target of 224 with 12.1 overs and six wickets to spare.
It was always going to take something special to beat a New Zealand side who had won their previous nine ODIs. Thankfully for England, who are now back in the series at 1-1 with three to play, Stokes produced it.
This was by no means a one-man effort – Chris Woakes was quite brilliant with the ball early on, his two wickets in his first two overs reducing the Black Caps to 9-2 after they had lost the toss and been asked to bat.
Then there were three outstanding catches, the first by David Willey that dismissed Mark Chapman to hand Woakes his second scalp.
Jason then produced two stunning efforts in as many overs. The first saw him dive forward to take a chance in the deep when opener Martin Guptill, set on Roy represent your country. It was a different feeling to what it is normally but it was a great feeling. The one thing I wanted was to be back representing my country.
“I’ve been working hard at home making sure that, when the opportunity came again, I wasn’t going to let anyone down.
“Hopefully now this is a stepping stone on the road to trying to keep on helping England win games. We’ve got a massive summer ahead and the World Cup coming up after that as well, so hopefully this is just the start of it.”
The all-rounder was left out of the Ashes tour after being suspended for his part in a late-night incident in Bristol that has landed him with a charge of affray.
“I’ve been following all the cricket that the lads have been playing Down Under,” said Stokes. “It was obviously frustrating to watch the Ashes. I went through all the emotions as I would have done had I been playing, but there’s not a lot I can change about that now.
“I want to contribute every time I play for England and, as I said, we’ve got a massive summer coming up and loads of cricket to play. I just want to contribute towards that.
“It’s all about building for the future.
“In the meantime it’s just great to be back with the boys.” JASON KENNY, the six-time Olympic champion, returned to the sport by winning silver last night in the team sprint at the UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Apeldoorn.
Along with Jack Carlin and Ryan Owens, they were beaten by the host nation, Holland, who got off to a flying start.
Kenny rode the final lap but could not pull it back yet he still made the podium having taken time out after winning three gold medals at the Olympic Games in Rio.
Despite the disappointment of missing out on what would have been Britain’s first world title in the discipline since 2005, Kenny said he was ‘chuffed’.
“I’m really happy, absolutely,” he said. “Obviously the problem with silver is you lose the final so you finish on a loss, but for me now it’s just nice. A month ago I wasn’t sure I would be in the team to travel and even when we came I wasn’t sure I would even ride.
“I was just happy to be in the team and to stick it on the podium, I’m well chuffed with that. It’s good to be in a team that’s right at the sharp end.”
It was a memorable day for the family as his wife Laura was also competing, six months after giving birth to their first child, as she helped Britain qualify second fastest in the women’s team pursuit.
Katie Archibald, Elinor Barker, Emily Nelson and Kenny set a time of four minutes 19.177 seconds, behind the defending champions USA who posted the best time of 4mins 18.836secs. Four-time Olympic champion Kenny, 25, returned to competition much faster than expected after giving birth – winning gold last month in the Omnium at the British National Championships. She has travelled with baby Albie to Apeldoorn.
Although the women were second to the Americans, Britain were comfortably ahead of third-placed Italy, who were a further 2.366s back.
The British quartet had been running ahead of the Americans on the time splits up to the 3,000-metre mark but fell behind on the last kilometre, with Kenny sitting up for the final lap after one last pull. Britain endurance coach Paul Manning said seventime world champion Kenny could take confidence from her return to action.
“I wouldn’t say she felt good after the race but reassured and happy,” he said. “It’s an impressive team performance. That team hasn’t spent long together. For Laura, expectations are modified for the minute but they won’t be for that long.”
Manning said the riders would be assessed this morning ahead of the next round with Ellie Dickinson ready to step in if required.
Kenny tweeted: “Felt like I was back at my first worlds all over again today. Nervous/ excited and everything else between. Second fastest for us. Two more to go Absolutely loved being back!!”