Root: We don’t need Stokes to beat Australia
JOE ROOT embarks on his first tour as England captain today, resigned to being without his right-hand man Ben Stokes for the entire Ashes.
While the 16-man squad fly to Perth, Stokes, the man endorsed by Root as his vice-captain when succeeding Alastair Cook back in February, remains grounded awaiting news of whether a charge will follow an early-hours fracas in Bristol last month that resulted in his arrest on suspicion of causing actual bodily harm.
With a police investigation ongoing, the ECB are yet to rule out the 26-year-old participating in Australia, although he is unavailable for selection until further notice, and Root latched on to that fact in the Long Room at Lord’s.
His first public address on the subject of Stokes was followed by the online publication of a magazine interview in which he said of a man he has known half his life: ‘He is a brilliant dad and loves spending time with his kids. A lot of the time he is quite quiet.
‘It has been a disappointing and horrible situation, but I wouldn’t say that is a fair representation of Ben as a person.’ Root was at Stokes’s wedding a fortnight ago, his presence showing loyalty and support to a friend he first faced as a Yorkshire Under 13 cricketer in a match against Cumbria.
However, this whole episode has been a gargantuan distraction ahead of Root’s first major assignment as Test captain, and the question of whether the events of recent weeks had altered their relationship drew an initial pause.
‘That’s between me and Ben,’ he said. ‘ That should stay between us. It is disappointing that he’s not going to be on the trip but you have to move on and move forward as a team.’
He added: ‘We’ve got to plan as if he’s not going to be there for the whole series. We’re very much in the dark as to what’s happening, as is everyone. So as a side we have to make sure we plan accordingly and approach things as though this is our squad.’
Planning at the start of a tour would usually focus on acclimatisation, conditions and tactical analysis. This time, though, off-field issues will dominate early team meetings. Root revealed a discussion with coach Trevor Bayliss about whether they should appoint a substitute vicecaptain was imminent, and that although talks regarding behaviour away from the field were necessary, curfews were not.
‘I don’t think there’s a drinking culture in cricket or in our side. I think we will address the issue and make sure situations like this don’t happen again,’ he said.
‘We are grown men, we know how to behave and we’ll make sure we conduct ourselves well on this tour. Being cooped up in hotel rooms would be a negative way to go about touring what is a great country.
‘It is important to enjoy and embrace the downtime we do get — the atmosphere of the grounds, the nature of the people around the grounds and when you go out for food, the banter that might be flying around — because you don’t get many opportunities to play in an Ashes series in Australia. Hopefully we can come away with fantastic memories.’
To do so, England will have to offset the loss of the world’s premier all-rounder. ‘Ben offers a lot to the team but it’s an opportunity for other guys to stand up. A lot of the time you see a difficult situation or a strange event give birth to someone’s extremely good Test career,’ Root added. ‘This is one of those occasions when you might see that.’
Root will have personal motivation, too, for on the last Ashes tour he was dropped by England for the only time. His focus, though, is on the greater good. ‘My sole goal is to come home with the urn,’ he said with a smile.
There have not been too many of those in the month leading up to departure.