Stone the crows! Now it’s my time to make my Ashes Mark
JUST seven years after watching Alastair Cook win the Ashes in Australia, Mark Stoneman will be opening the batting alongside him in tomorrow’s first tour match against a Western Australia XI at the WACA.
Back in 2010-11, Stoneman was watching on from the SCG stands as England sealed their first away win in Australia for 24 years during a series that saw Cook score 766 runs.
England have been searching for a reliable partner for Cook at the top of the order ever since Andrew Strauss, the triumphant captain on that tour, retired in 2012.
Stoneman is the 12th player tried in that position since then.
But after a positive start against West Indies at the end of the summer, it appears that England may have finally found the solution to their longest-running selection dilemma.
Australia will prove the ultimate acid test for the Newcastle-born Surrey batsman.
However, after spending nine winters playing Grade cricket in Australia this is a country and conditions he knows well.
It was during that winter seven years ago when Stoneman was playing in Sydney that he witnessed Cook first hand, as he did on the previous tour four years earlier during his first offseason spell in Australia.
“Yes, I was here in 2010-11,” said the 30-year-old. “From memory I think I got to the SCG for one day of the Ashes.
“It is quite surreal because back in 2006/07 I was sat behind the bowlers arm as Brett Lee was steaming in bowling to Andrew Flintoff.
“The Barmy Army were going mad in one corner, the ground was full and the atmosphere was unbelievable, so to have the potential to be playing in the same fixture is unreal.”
Batting alongside Cook, England’s all-time leading century-maker and run scorer in Tests, has helped Stoneman settle into international cricket.
“He’s quite funny actually,” he said. “All the time that I only ever saw him on the telly he just looked like a guy who was very calm and in control but he’s actually a really funny guy and keeps things level out there.
“You can have a bit of banter with him and he judges the mood quite well. It has only been a short while but I think he reads me quite well, too, from the other end as to whether he needs to give me a gee up or make me crack a smile.”
Cook also gave him valuable advice ahead of this tour. “He told me to give myself a chance,” he said. “Against Australia with that bit of extra pace and bounce with the new ball, it’s getting through the first 20 or 30 balls, settle in, get used to the pace of the wicket – then after that, you can enjoy batting over here.
“My first three Tests against West Indies were great. I don’t think I’ve ever had as much fun playing cricket – in front of full houses, it’s what you want to be doing.
“Obviously, the Ashes is just something completely different and totally new for me – the buzz that’s around it and the build-up is on another level. So it’s very exciting.
“The tour only comes around every four years, and to get the timing right to get my opportunity now is fantastic – and I want to make the most of it.”
With several years experience playing Grade cricket Down Under, Stoneman is confident his game is well suited to the conditions he will face during the Ashes, even if the standard will be a significant step up.
“Yeah I think in general the position I’m in I feel quite comfortable adapting to most conditions,” he said. “Obviously, the pitches aren’t quite as quick or bouncy in England but we do get a good variation in conditions which helps develop your game and match awareness.
“It was great to get my opportunity against the West Indies but it will be fantastic if I’m able to play well out here in Australia and cement my place.
“It’s a great place to play. If you can get through that new-ball period, more often than not there are some fantastic wickets for batting on – so I can’t wait.
“It’s up there with the toughest challenges in the world, against the new ball in Australia, with the quick bowlers they’ve had through their history. It’ll be a fantastic challenge and something, I hope, I can stand up to.”
ENGLAND won’t have to come up against their nemesis from four years ago after Mitchell Johnson declined an invite to be a part of the Western Australia XI.
Johnson retired from Test cricket in 2015 having grabbed 37 wickets in the 2013/4 Ashes.
He is still a regular in the Big Bash though, but according to a report in the West Australian, Johnson has opted out of the clash to warm up for the BBL.