STOKES: SRI LANKA CRAMPS MY STYLE
BEN STOKES admits he is struggling to tone down his full-throttle approach to international cricket as England return to the scene of their limited-overs humiliation today. But for Stokes’ efforts on one leg on Tuesday, the record ODI defeat suffered at Colombo’s Premadasa Stadium might have been even worse than the eventual 219-run margin. However, the 27-year-old’s chronic cramps in sultry Sri Lanka were partly self-inflicted by his insistence on throwing himself headlong into practice before each appearance. Opting for a 90-minute net with the bat followed by full bowling and fielding drills the evening before the final match of the 50-over series led coach Trevor Bayliss to question the merits of such an approach. Stokes said: ‘Since Trevor’s been our coach he’s always been on to me about doing too much. It’s a tough one to try and strike, though, because when it comes to game-time I want to judge myself on how I’ve felt with the bat and ball in training. ‘It’s whether I’ve done what I felt I needed to do, so that every game I go into I know I’ve prepared properly and done everything I normally do.’ England’s premier all-rounder — who claims to be the sweatiest member of the touring party, alongside Liam Plunkett — arguably suffered for the dead rubber being the only contest in the 3-1 win to go the distance due to the omnipresent thunderstorms in the country. More are forecast for today’s one-off Twenty20 fixture. After a year in which his off-field conduct resulted in him missing the entire 2017-18 Ashes and being stripped of the Test vice-captaincy, Stokes understandably wants to look forward — to next summer’s Ashes and World Cup — rather than dwell on a period in his life that saw him acquitted of affray in a Bristol court in August. ‘It’s over and done with now so I don’t like to think about it,’ he reflected. That is not strictly true as he faces two ECB disrepute charges along with Alex Hales in December. On selection grounds, however, he remains indispensable to England across all formats — which can’t be said for Joe Root, who is hoping for a T20 recall after being axed against India.