Stokes is hobbled by injury
Captain’s knee remains a concern ahead of Ashes
There have not been many times in a year of Test cricket played in fast-forward when england have been forced to sit in and display the one ingredient they are reluctant to include in their Bazball mix — patience.
They certainly needed it on the third day of this final Test after Tom Latham and Devon Conway threatened to make Ben Stokes pay for what has become a rare but totally attacking move in enforcing the follow-on.
When New Zealand moved to 149 without loss in their second innings after being dismissed for 209, there were england supporters well versed in the old ways questioning why Stokes had not just batted them out of the game. All it would have taken was for england to bat again for two sessions in their usual ultraaggressive way and they would have been more than 400 ahead and out of sight of a New Zealand side who were down, but not quite out at the end of day two.
That is not how Stokes and Brendon McCullum want to do it. They were perfectly aware that by bowling again they were giving New Zealand their only realistic chance of getting out of trouble and squaring this series.
But, frankly, that did not bother them a jot. They mean it when they say they are prepared to risk losing to put on a show, as they proved in Pakistan, and this was the best way, Stokes reasoned, to keep the game moving and pressurise the opposition.
Stokes’ logic was sound. even though Tim Southee had delayed england on the third morning by smashing 73 off 49 balls before Stuart Broad took the last three first-innings wickets to fall, his seamers were still fresh and the pitch unlikely to deteriorate.
Jimmy Anderson, Broad and Ollie robinson had bowled just 36.2 first-innings overs. New Zealand looked demoralised.
It didn’t quite work out like that. Only once since Bazball was truly ignited, against these same opponents at Trent Bridge last year, have a pair of batsmen kept england quiet for longer than Latham and Conway — Imam-ulhaq and Abdullah Shafique batted for 65.4 overs for Pakistan in the first Test in rawalpindi.
Stokes had to try everything, including bowling himself for two ill-fated overs, and almost 53 overs had passed before england finally got the breakthrough.
That was when Jack Leach forced Conway, who averaged more than a hundred at the Basin reserve before this Test, to deflect ball on to pad for Ollie Pope to take the latest in a number of sharp catches.
Latham had moved past 5,000 runs in Test cricket, making him a genuine New Zealand great, before he tried to sweep Joe root, missed and was palpably lbw. root was so sure Latham was out he produced one of Broad’s ‘celeb-appeals’ before even looking to see whether umpire Chris Gaffaney’s finger was up.
Leach was to strike again when he turned one past the edge of Will Young’s bat and took the top of off stump to leave New Zealand 167 for three. They extended that to 202 for three by the close.
What must be a bigger concern is the fitness of the captain. It is one thing for Stokes to carry on with his ultra-aggressive batting even though all evidence suggests he is not giving himself the best chance to contribute big runs.
It is quite another to see him bowl just two overs in which he started with a short-ball wide, was twice warned and called for no-ball for bowling excessive bouncers by Gaffaney, over-stepped and disappeared for 16 before retiring to the outfield.
Stokes insists his chronic left knee injury is not an issue but he is barely training between matches and does not play in warm-up games. It will become an issue in the build-up to the Ashes if he looks less and less able to fulfil an all-round role.
‘As we all know he’s got a knee niggle but thankfully he’s the captain and decides when he bowls or doesn’t,’ said assistant coach Paul Collingwood. ‘he was trying to break the rhythm of the batters with some short stuff, but we got a wicket at the other end so he changed that plan and went back to conventional bowling.’
Stokes’ captaincy has been exceptional and he has barely put a foot wrong but, with a £1.6million deal in the IPL with Chennai awaiting after this series and then the biggest clash of all against the old enemy, the state of his knee will continue to be the elephant in england’s room.
TO FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENED ON DAY FOUR GO TO DAILYMAIL.CO.UK/SPORT