STOKES NO CHANCE
Ex-Aussie captain writes off England
AUSTRALIA would inflict an easy Ashes defeat on a Ben Stokes-less England, according to one of their former captains.
Two out of the last three results Down Under have been 5-0 wallopings to the Aussies, and Ian Chappell reckons the tourists would have no chance of avoiding defeat without their all-rounder and talisman. As things currently stand, Stokes is not available for England until further notice, and is sweating on the outcome of an ongoing police investigation, not to mention the ECB’s own internal enquiries into his late-night bust-up alongside Alex Hales.
Even though he was named in the squad to travel to Australia with the rest of his teammates on October 28, that could yet change in the coming weeks to leave England’s chances of success in the doldrums.
“No, they can’t win without him,” said Chappell (above). “For a number of reasons. His ability is the main thing but, also, he’s a match-winning
player, and those sort of players drag the rest of the team along with them and makes them better. “He’s not overawed by anyone and certainly not by the Australians. I would in fact say the opposite. “He’s probably one of those players inspired by playing against the better teams and that has a flow on effect to the fellas who don’t have that sort of confidence. “I don’t think they’ve got a hope in hell without him.” If Stokes makes it to Australia he will be under incredible scrutiny from their public and media off the pitch. There would be no escape from the taunts he would face from the crowd, and an already difficult battle could become that much harder, if he becomes the focus of the public’s wrath in the way Stuart Broad was last time. But former Aussie stumper Ian Healy reckons the crowd should be the least of Stokes’ worries if he makes it over to Oz. “I don’t know whether he can expect or care,” said Healy of the crowds. “He has had issues before, he’s probably let himself down again. He just needs to get that right first, don’t even worry about cricket. “Get that right, and what you cop from the crowd doesn’t matter. Just straighten out your behaviour. “I rate him as their best player. To lose one of your best players is an absolute nightmare.”