STOKES TONIC FOR ENGLAND
All-rounder is fit to face South Africa
ENGLAND’S Champions Trophy prospects received a shot in the arm when Ben Stokes was passed fit to play in the second one-day international against South Africa at the Ageas Bowl today.
Stokes left the field after bowling only two overs during England’s 72-run win at Headingley on Wednesday, but a scan on his left knee was said to be ‘inconclusive’.
For English cricket, it was a welcome ambiguity. More to the point, it means the injury that required surgery on the joint a year ago to remove floating cartilage has not resurfaced.
And while the management face a constant battle to get the most out of their star all-rounder while at the same time bearing in mind the demands of a jam-packed schedule, the equation is simple: as far as Stokes’s body is concerned, no news is reassuring news.
He may not bowl his full 10 overs as Eoin Morgan’s team go in search of an unassailable lead in this three-match series against the world’s top-ranked one-day side. And if they do complete the job in Southampton, there is every chance Stokes will sit out Monday’s finale at Lord’s before their Champions Trophy opener against Bangladesh at The Oval three days later.
For the moment, though, they are simply relieved that Stokes emerged unscathed from a training session at the Ageas Bowl which involved a long bat, a couple of exploratory overs and the obligatory game of football.
Such is his worth to the side that it seems inconceivable now to think he was left out of the squad for the 2015 World Cup. Back then, a run of low scores and uncertainty over his role seemed to leave the selectors with little option.
But his return coincided with the start of Morgan’s white-ball revolution, and his MVP status at the recent Indian Premier League took the Stokes brand global.
Fast bowler Liam Plunkett spoke for the team when he compared Stokes’s stature to that of Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen. Yet the man himself is aware that, for all the hype, there is room for improvement.
Since breaking back into the team two years ago, Stokes has shone with the bat, averaging nearly 40 with a strikerate of 107. But his seam bowling is a work in progress: his 26 wickets in the same period have cost 40 each, and he has gone for a run a ball.
His fielding, though, remains world- class — despite an unexpected dropped boundary catch on Wednesday night — and his aura is undeniable.
With him in the team, England look beautifully balanced, so much so that Virat Kohli, the captain of defending champions India, suggested this week they had ‘no weaknesses’. Kidology or not, it had the ring of truth. Victory at the Ageas Bowl would be England’s eighth in a row, a sequence they last bettered in 2012. And while their explosive batting has been at the heart of their upturn, the bowlers deserve credit too.
‘We’ve got the bowlers to win the Champions Trophy,’ said Plunkett. ‘We’ve got pace with Woody and myself on some days, and you’ve got Dave Willey with the left-arm option.
‘Rash (Adil Rashid) is taking a lot of wickets. He can clean people up in the middle, and has been huge for us.’
Throw in the off- breaks of Moeen Ali, which are underrated in the white-ball formats, the accuracy of Chris Woakes and the vibrancy of Stokes, and England feel they have their bases covered. They are set to name an unchanged team.
South Africa, meanwhile, have been left to rue what batsman Faf du Plessis called ‘silly mistakes’ during the series opener in Leeds, where they were in with a shout of knocking off England’s 339 when they reached 145 for one in the 25th over.
Their challenge now is to ensure they haven’t peaked too early. Having won 12 one- day internationals in a row, they have lost three of their last five. England are in the mood to place further doubt in their minds.