Ben bemused after dubious Crawley call
his transformational tenure as captain. ‘We went about our game with the best of intentions but sometimes your execution isn’t how you want it to be. It can be your downfall, but so be it.
‘Joe’s dismissal was definitely a turning point because he got out — but he’s scored nearly 12,000 runs so I think we can leave the decision making and the “why” with him.
‘It’s not a shot you necessarily see Test players playing but who am I to question a guy who has 30 hundreds? I think he knows what he’s doing.
‘We can’t let the disappointment eat at us. If you think too deeply about things, it can send you into a downward spiral. It’s about what we do in the next two games now.
‘We don’t need to temper our methods. our batting line-up is full of international-class players and we give them the freedom to play what’s in front of them. We just need to look at our execution.’
England are becoming more and more unhappy about the technology used in this series and Stokes wants ‘umpire’s call’ abolished from DrS.
‘We wanted some clarity over Zak’s decision because we showed it to the match ref and the ball wasn’t hitting the stumps,’ said Stokes. ‘he came back and said it was hitting but the projection and the images showed it wasn’t. I don’t know what to make of that.
‘I’m not saying and never will say DrS is the reason we’ve lost this game but you just want something that’s consistent. I think we should just get rid of umpire’s call.
‘If it’s hitting the stumps then it’s hitting the stumps. Then it’s a level playing field.’
There was encouragement for England supporters when Stokes admitted he was considering bowling again, starting in ranchi on Friday, after his knee operation last year.
Stokes hasn’t bowled since last summer’s ashes but has been seen practising at something approaching full tilt this week. having the captain, who has 197 Test wickets to his name, as an all-rounder again would add balance to McCullum’s side, not to mention another dimension to England’s attack.
‘I’ve had my first bowl at a hundred per cent and the knee feels good,’ Stokes added.
‘I do like to jump the gun a bit too much. I am not saying yes I will bowl, but I’m not saying no at this stage, either.’