STOKES TOO RUSTY FOR A RESCUE ACT
Whisper it, but Ben stokes is not ready for the Ashes. Forget the legal hurdles and the moral 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 performance: full of heart but to no avail. 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 ten 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, not the Mainpower Oval in rangiora. in the event, the name check came from 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. earlier, Canterbury’s hopes of filling this venue suffered a blow when he tried to whack left-arm 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 Kitchen, the very definition of a journeyman cricketer, stokes was 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. ‘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 there was no doubting the impression he has made on his new team-mates. ‘he was chomping at the bit to put in a good performance,’ said Canterbury captain Cole McConchie. ‘it didn’t come off but he showed up with a great attitude and gave his whole heart to it.’