SAY SORRY STOKES
BAYLISS CALLS FOR PUBLIC APOLOGY
ENGlAND coach Trevor Bayliss has urged Ben Stokes to make a public apology for the behaviour that landed him in court and brought shame to the game. Stokes was back in the England squad at Trent Bridge yesterday but Bayliss will only decide today if he is ready to face India in tomorrow’s third Test after his seven-day trial for affray in Bristol. If he plays or not, Bayliss wants Stokes to repeat the apology he has already given to his team-mates. ‘Certainly,’ said Bayliss when asked if Stokes should make a public apology. ‘I’m sure something will be forthcoming.’
It was somehow apt yesterday that trevor Bayliss faced the media music on the same trent Bridge squash court where Brian Clough used to let off steam away from the pressure over the road at the City Ground.
the fabled Forest manager would have approved of the no-nonsense way Bayliss — at trent Bridge’s makeshift press conference room — tackled the topic of Ben stokes and his right to play in tomorrow’s third test.
If anything Bayliss looked a little uncomfortable about the unusually intense spotlight that inevitably accompanied what normally would have been a routine gathering with England 2-0 up against India with three to play.
Yet the australian shirked nothing as he said stokes had received a ‘wake-up call’ at Bristol Crown Court despite being found not guilty of affray and that his team-mates had ‘learnt their lesson’ about the need to behave more responsibly.
Most revealingly, Bayliss accepted the need for stokes to make a public apology for his unacceptable behaviour and said a player he regards with an almost parental fondness had been rushed back here for his ‘own well-being’.
It is, of course, entirely the fault of stokes and the ECB that there was no focus on England’s unexpected position of superiority that sees them needing to win here at their Nottingham fortress to clinch this series.
this was all about the man who was controversially back training yesterday in the environment in which he feels most at home only two days after his ‘ordeal’ of more than a week spent in the dock facing criminal charges.
so then, trevor, what is Ben doing here when he still faces a probable charge of bringing the game into disrepute from the cricket discipline commission?
‘It was a collective decision,’ said the coach. ‘It was made by myself, the management, captain, andy Flower, Ed smith and members of the board. we thought for the sake of his well-being it was good to get him back around cricket.’
But surely it would have been better to not pick stokes while he still has a cloud hanging over him and so soon after the game’s image had been dragged into the gutter at Bristol?
‘I can understand where people are coming from when they argue that,’ said Bayliss. ‘But we have to remember he has already missed a number of games and we also have to take things at face value.
‘He certainly understands he was out when he shouldn’t have been and got involved in something he shouldn’t have got involved in. He’ll certainly pull the right way from now on. I’m sure it has been a wake-up call for him.’
to that end Bayliss revealed stokes had apologised to his teammates for his behaviour and for casting such a shadow over their doomed ashes campaign.
‘He addressed the players when he first arrived in New Zealand after missing the ashes,’ said Bayliss. ‘ His contrition was evident to the boys in the team.’
are the cricket-loving public not due an apology also? ‘Certainly,’ said Bayliss. ‘I’m sure something will be forthcoming. It will be up to Ben and his management. I think first it was important he apologised to the boys in the team, the team management and the management of the ECB.
‘we will see how much contrition he has but I know him to be an honest, humble guy and I can’t see this being any different.’
the wider picture is the culture of the England team and cricket’s relationship with alcohol. Bayliss confirmed Sportsmail’s revelation yesterday that the ECB are undertaking a review aimed at cleaning up the team’s act.
‘since the Bristol incident a lot of work has been done on the team’s culture with our two captains and that will be ongoing,’ he said. ‘there will be work done on what it means to actually play for England. there were a couple of minor indiscretions in australia but now I can sit here and say finally the players have woken up. they have learned their lesson and their professionalism and the way they’ve gone about their business since then has been spot on.
‘No one is saying what happened is right. all sportsmen have to have a good, hard look at themselves and not put themselves in those situations. Or you end up in media scrums facing questions, which no one likes to do.
‘they’ve always understood they have a responsibility but they’re human beings. One or two guys have made mistakes . . . but they’ve been honest about them and we move on.’
Now the question is whether England move on immediately
with Stokes in their side. Bayliss has always said that a fit and available Ben Stokes always plays in his team but yesterday he did not seem quite so sure.
‘We’ll find out where he is at mentally over the next couple of days,’ said Bayliss. ‘This is not like coming back after missing a game with a physical problem. It’s going to be a difficult decision and whoever misses out, whether it’s Ben or someone else, will be very unlucky. It’s a position we’ve actually been trying to get into with the Test team for some time.’
True, but nobody wanted England to face a selection dilemma in these circumstances. The apparent uncertainty over Stokes yesterday shows how hasty and wrong they were to rush him back but he is here now and it would be a big surprise if Stokes does not play.
He arrived at Trent Bridge yesterday through a side entrance but was unable to escape the type of media scrum Bayliss talked about. Then he looked much happier signing autographs in front of the pavilion before playing in goal during England’s game of football and then practising in the usual way.
Nothing, though, is usual about the situation Stokes continues to find himself in. There is still some way to go before this sorry saga comes to an end.