STOKES STILL STIRRING IT UP
Ben in the wars again as Samuels makes England pay dearly for drop
EVEN when the cricket is torpid and the scoring rate is barely more than two an over, life with England will never be dull while Ben Stokes is around.
Stokes was at the centre of everything on a hard-fought first day of the second Test as England strove to set up the victory that is essential to their wellbeing.
First the Durham all-rounder injured himself, then he struck immediately he came on to bowl and finally became embroiled in a heated dispute with Marlon Samuels that led to him being admonished by umpire Steve Davis.
All in a day’s work for a gifted cricketer who looks destined to endure as many lows as he does highs in what is shaping up to be an eventful career.
Stokes went wicketless in 32 overs in the first Test, even throwing away a dismissal for the second time by overstepping, and ended up in a strident Twitter debate with his critics.
Here he slipped on the greasy outfield and twisted his body in a manner that had anyone who saw Simon Jones suffer serious injury in Brisbane in 2002 holding their breath.
Thankfully Stokes was able to continue after treatment but was still feeling the injury when he came on to bowl, with England battling for the wickets they desperately needed to justify Alastair Cook’s decision to insert West Indies.
It clearly did not hinder him. Stokes struck with his second ball, forcing Shiv Chanderpaul to steer loosely to point and open the door for England to take command of this Test and the series.
It was just what Cook needed from a gifted but raw all-rounder who seemingly will always flirt with the self- destruct button but who has the ability to become a key figure in England’s future.
When he scored an Ashes century in the most difficult of circum- stances in Perth he was a rare ray off light in a lamentable series and looked destined to bat at No 6 for England and act as an attacking fourth seamer for the next 10 years. Yet just a few months later he was putting himself out of the World Twenty20 by punching a locker in frustration in Barbados at the start of a nightmare run of form with both bat and ball for England.
It did not get any better when Stokes regained fitness and he was so out of touch that England, having moved him up and down the batting order, controversially left him out of their doomed World Cup campaign. In truth there was little else they could do, such was his complete lack of touch in either discipline, and Stokes was honest enough to blame himself for his omission rather than point the finger at England.
Now he is back he should become a permanent fixture but already, with Moeen Ali returning after injury, he has lost his No 6 position again despite impressing in Antigua by taking the attack to West Indies.
There were times yesterday when Bayern Munich seemed to be scoring at a faster rate than West Indies. This was a day for the purist, a stultifying example of modern-day Caribbean cricket where there is far more life in the stands than in the pitches.
Bayern may have hit six in the Champions League last night but there was never any danger of a six being hit in the 70 overs that were possible here.
The atmosphere was made for swing bowling but thee 22 yards of dirt masquerad-ing as a cricket pitch did d not assist the England attack one bit.
It was Jimmy Anderson, fresh from breaking Sir Ian Botham’s record to become England’s leading wickettaker in Test cricket, who o began the day by producing an unplayable inswingernger to demolish Kraigg Brathwaite.
At that stage English hopes were high that Anderson would run through West Indies. Sadly for them it was not that simple.
England were helped by a couple of Caribbean rushes of blood, but Devon Smith for one can justifiably feel very hard done by.
The first Grenadian to play Test cricket on his home island was given out by Australian umpire Davis for what seemed a regulation edge after Smith had played a wild shot at Chris Jordan. Trouble was, replays proved that Smith was nowhere near it and the sound that both Davis and presumably he heard was of his bat hitting the ground rather than the ball.
A review would have surely led to Smith’s reinstatement even though there is no HotSpot or Snicko here to attempt to provide conclusive proof of an umpiring mistake. But Smith did not call on technology.
Neither Darren Bravo nor Chanderpaul will be happy with the strokes that cost them their wickets and at 74 for four West Indies were teetering again. Yet Samuels, despite being dropped by Cook off Jordan on 32, and Jermaine Blackwood made life hard again for England with the help of that annoying 22 yards of turf. Umpire Davis had another uncomfortable moment when he ruled Blackwood not out when Jordan, who would have been the man to miss out had England plumped for a second spinner here iin Adil Rashid, appealed loudly For lbw. England decided to review and the ball was found to be hitting. But Cook’s miss of Samuels began to look costly when he opened his shoulders in partnership with Denesh Ramdin after taking 141 balls to reach 50. The calm was broken when Samuels, who has a far better record against England than any other team and names Nasser Hussain as his ultimate batting hero, wound up Stokes, who had been sledging him constantly.
It ended with Stokes throwing wildly in an attempt to run out Samuels and conceding overthrows. The spiky Jamaican ended unbeaten on 94 with West Indies reaching 188 for five on a truncated day.