Now Warner stirs up the Stokes saga
DAVID WARNER has cheerfully reminded England what they will be missing when the Ashes start at the Gabba by accusing Ben Stokes of letting his country down. With unsubstantiated rumours swirling here that Stokes, who was suspended by England following a late-night brawl in Bristol in September, will soon fly to Australia, Warner opted for the moral high ground. ‘It’s disappointing for the England team and the country,’ said the man who missed the first two Tests of the 2013 Ashes after punching Joe Root in a Birmingham bar. ‘He’s let a lot of people down. I would have
loved for him to be out here because I know what a competitor he is on the field.’ Avon and Somerset Police are no nearer deciding whether to charge Stokes after he was filmed knocking a man to the ground outside a nightclub almost two months ago. England opener Alastair Cook said: ‘Since we’ve arrived we’ve accepted it would be very unlikely that Ben would be here, so it’s about dealing with that.
Ben could’ve got injured in the first warm-up game, done a hamstring or a knee and we wouldn’t have him. You can’t just pin your hopes on one guy. ‘If there is a bonus of him making the trip at some stage that would be great, but I can honestly say it hasn’t been spoken about in the changing room. We all wish Ben was here, he is a good guy, and we know his family really well. It’s a shame for him he’s missing a big series.’ Stokes posted footage on Instagram of a private training session, but all-rounder Moeen Ali denied it was a distraction ahead of a Test they cannot afford to lose. ‘Not really,’ said Moeen. ‘I saw him bowling and told him that’s getting hit for six any day. It’s exciting that he’s back batting and bowling, just seeing him training. We don’t know what’s going on but it’s not a distraction. We have the players here and we are focused on what we need to do. ’ Meanwhile, former England wicketkeeper Matt Prior has defended himself in the wake of criticism from Australia spinner Nathan Lyon, who claimed that during Australia’s 5-0 whitewash of England in 2013-14, Prior was so ‘scared’ he wanted to fly home. Prior said: ‘I may have been playing badly, but there was no way I was getting on a plane. You’ve embarrassed yourself and this game has a funny way of biting back. ‘I sincerely hope you’re not part of a losing team on home soil. You want to end careers? Just make sure it’s not yours.’