Still ignored by the selectors, Mark is making a strong case
he desire to play for England is as strong as it has ever been,” said Mark Stoneman on swapping Durham for Surrey in the winter and now, it appears, he might finally get his chance.
Even before news of Gary Ballance’s broken finger whistled through south London, the Oval was alive with whispers of a call-up for the man they call Rocky, a player who has proven himself on the county circuit and should – barring a let-down that would surprise most around the setup – make an England Test debut next week at the ground he now calls home.
It was a big decision to up sticks last season and head for pastures new. Stoneman, born and bred in the north-east and a huge Newcastle United fan, had enjoyed significant success at Chester-Le-Street after taking over from the retiring Michael Di Venuto at the top of the order in 2011. Six years later, Di Venuto brought Stoneman to Surrey to help make his dream come true.
“I’d obviously taken him under my wing a little bit up at Durham,” Di Venuto told The Independent.
“I knew how good he was and had seen how much he had grown so it was a great opportunity to bring him here when he was looking for a new challenge.
“He has fitted in really well and that is what I wanted. He’s an outstanding role model for the younger players in terms of performances on the field, obviously, but also in terms of character.”
Since Stoneman became an undisputable fixture in the Durham championship side, he has hit 1,000 runs each season, culminating in his final campaign where finesse began to really triumph grit and he scored over 1,300 runs at an average of 47.
Still ignored by the England selectors, the left-handed opener headed south and is currently 34 runs short of hitting four figures again, with an average north of 50 and he has added something special to his game, Di Venuto says.
“He’s been a consistent run scorer for a few years now, and he’s really continued that in a new environment here.
“But I think he has also started to get some big scores, and particularly in the first innings of matches which puts us in a strong position and has taken him to the next level.”
As team-mate Stuart Meaker put it, in conversation with The Independent, “the way he applies himself when he gets his runs mean he is never flustered. Always focused. When he gets to 100 you always feel like he is just determined to carry on going and hit the next milestone.
“He’s an excellent professional and a great cricketing brain to have with you on the field.”
Now 30 years old, Stoneman has come a long way from the nervous local lad opening up on tricky decks in the northeast. He is now dominating bowlers on all surfaces in the County Championship and in the shorter forms too.
This season has seen him hit career-best scores in both List A and First-Class cricket. Next, fingers crossed, will be his long-awaited step into the Test arena. Joe Root was drawn into a war of words with old mentor and former England captain Michael Vaughan following his team’s crushing 340-run defeat by South Africa in the second Test.
England’s current captain was visibly angered when asked what he thought of Vaughan’s assessment that his team do not “respect” Test cricket after they were bowled out for 133 on the fourth and final day at Trent Bridge.
In all, the hosts batted for just 96.2 overs across the match, one ball fewer than South Africa’s first innings, as they slipped to their eighth defeat in 13 Tests.
“The England batting has been appalling,” Vaughan said on the BBC’s Test Match Special. “Maybe it’s a lack of respect about what the game is. They look like they are playing a Twenty20 game.” THE INDEPENDENT