Stokes full of heart but he’s too rusty to come to the rescue
Whisper it, but Ben stokes is not ready for the Ashes. Forget the legal hurdles and the morale outrage: in purely cricketing terms, the body is yet to click into gear.
On a surreal day in an otherwise mundane corner of New Zealand, england’s star-in-exile turned out for Canterbury in the 50- over Ford Trophy against Otago, was out for two, failed to take a wicket and was even seen to be stretching his left side.
Any injury concerns were dismissed by Canterbury coach Gary stead as ‘general stiffness’, but it was a phrase which captured stokes’s overall performance: full of heart but to no avail.
For a crowd of around 400 — roughly eight times what Canterbury normally attract in this competition, though fewer than their english chief executive Jez Curwin was hoping for — it was all a bit of a letdown.
When stokes was pulled for six by Otago No 9 Jacob Duffy, it was a reminder that not even the game’s hottest property can turn it on after 10 weeks simmering on the sidelines.
Before his fateful misadventure outside Mbargo nightclub in Bristol on september 24, stokes might reasonably have expected to get a name check in the press conference on December 3 — but at Adelaide Oval and the second Ashes Test, not Mainpower Oval in rangiora, a town whose most recent sporting claim to fame is being the birthplace of former All Black captain Todd Blackadder. That was in 1971.
in the event, the name check came from the unassuming stead, who offered his new all-rounder a consoling pat on the back. ‘if anything, he probably tried too hard,’ he said. ‘it was expected that he was going to be a bit rusty. he’ll be better for the run, i’m sure of that.’
stokes might have won an lbw shout or two early in his spell as Canterbury set about defending 222, and Otago’s rob Nicol got away with a fortuitous flash over the slips. his first four-over spell cost 26, and his second 15, by which time Otago’s openers were well on their way to putting on a club-record 175. Cue an alarming collapse — seven for 23 in eight overs — but, when stokes returned in the hope of sealing a fightback, he was deposited for six, not far from where his parents, Ged and Deb, were sitting at deep midwicket. he finished with figures of 9-0-49-0. earlier, Canterbury’s hopes of filling this picturesque venue suffered a blow when he tried to whack leftarm spinner Anaru Kitchen through the leg side, only to inside-edge the ball on to his leg stump to leave his side eight for three. he had faced only seven deliveries. For the 33- year- old Kitchen, the very definition of a journeyman cricketer, stokes represented just the 20th wicket of his 76-match one-day career, and a highlight with which to regale the grandkids.
‘You always want to get international wickets as a domestic player,’ he said. ‘it’s always good to see what you’re like up against those professionals at the top of the chain. i just treated him like any other batter. At the end of the day, he’s human.’
stokes’s next outing, as he awaits the decision of the Crown prosecution service in the UK, will be on Wednesday away to Auckland, and — despite his fruitless outing here — there was no doubting the impression he has made on his new team-mates.
‘Ben was willing to help out throughout the day,’ said Canterbury captain Cole McConchie. ‘he offered us a lot. he was chomping at the bit to put in a good performance. it didn’t come off but he showed up with a great attitude and gave his whole heart to it.’