After the unfortunate loss of Jonathan Trott, one of England's finest batsmen of the modern era, Cook, Flower and co must look to one of of our young, untested, inexperienced cricketers to take his place. Who is ready to step up to the plate and deliver the goods for England?
It is almost a certainty that either Root or recently SPOTY nominated Bell will slot in at number 3 in Trotty's absence, meaning that with the top 5 all but sorted, that elusive number 6 slot is yet again up for grabs. For so long since Collingwood hung up the best hands in England, we have struggled to find a consistent batter that could solve the problem number 6 position. Morgan was inked in, until his exaggerated trigger crouch took him from world beater to county mediocrity. Bopara never really grabbed his chance, or his second chance with both hands like he should have done, and now has in the one-day arena. And everyone knows that Samit Patel only ever gets a game in the sub-continent, despite being a fantastically talented batsmen.
So that leaves us with an opportunity. Who is the next lucky man to take that slot and potentially lose it after a short run of unsuccessful games? Or will we find a talent that is too good to let the opportunity pass. Someone that will develop into a permanent fixture in the side for years and years to come. A player that is ready to fight the Aussies fire with fire, right here, right now, and show everyone around the world that he can perform at this level. I think Ben Stokes is that man. I think he is ready for the challenge.
Where else could we go, I hear you say. Well, Ballance and Bairstow are the obvious answers to this question. But both hold as much as a gamble as throwing Stokes into the second test. Bairstow is struggling for runs and has some clear flaws in his games that need to be eradicated, and Ballance has played less cricket for England than Stokes has. So there is no obvious replacement for poor Trotty. In previous years we may have pushed the panic button and sent a first-class ticket to Adelaide through the post box of Ravi Bopara, Marcus Trescothick or even Mark Ramprakash to come and 'save our tour', but those days are in the past and England's 'next cab off the rank' policy won't be ignored just because its an away Ashes series. And unless you're going to whisk in the recently qualified Sam Robson from just over the great ocean road with the EPP squad, and chuck him into the mixer, then that leaves us a straight shoot out. Its going to be between the two Yorkshire lads and our ginger-haired all-rounder for that final spot.
To be honest, I have no idea, at this stage which path England will take come Thursday morning in Adelaide, but there are without doubt cases for all 3 of these talented youngsters. Many favour Bairstow with his past experience and runs at international level. A few say go with Ballance for his raw talent, huge potential and as a somewhat unknown quantity to the opposition. This school of thought includes one of my lecturers, a cricket-person with vast knowledge, who when I spoke to yesterday morning exclaimed that, 'We have nothing to lose at number 6, runs are a bonus. Chuck him in for 4 test matches to give it a go and just play.'
I say, if that is the attitude we have and runs at number 6 really are a bonus, why not choose Stokes? He's a cricketer that fills all the boxes. Like Ballance a powerful left-hander, he can come in when we are under pressure at 60-4 and counter attack in a bid to grab back the momentum from the Aussie bowlers, or at 300-4 when he can really pump the initiative home with Matty Prior and the tail, after the top order have set a solid platform (hopefully this will be the trend for the rest of the series!). Stokes also gives the extra dimension of being able to bowl at close to 90mph, and that's exactly what everyone has been crying out for since Mitchell Johnson started to run through us on day 2 on that bouncy GABBA wicket isn't it? He really is a fearless cricketer, and at times like this we need players like him in our side. Australia are coming at us hard this time round, and if we want to win this series and take home the Ashes once again, we are going to have to find a better balance between our conservative, safe (but effective) cricket, and a more aggressive, attacking style of playing when the situation dictates. And I think Stokes' inclusion could be key to making this happen.
Now I hear my lecturers screaming, where's your academia behind this choice? And in truth, there isn't an awful lot of evidence to say that Stokes will be a fantastic international player for England. My best attempt at evidence to back up the point, would be successful players previously selected on instinct rather than stats alone. Vaughan and Trescothick both had average to poor first-class records when Fletcher gave them the call up. And look where they ended up! On last season's stats alone, Gary Ballance is the only choice, averaging over 50 last season for Yorkshire, with Stokes not even making the 30 mark. But it's not all about numbers. Ballance may well have got the hundreds and the runs under his belt for the last couple of seasons, but Stokes has played a big part in pushing his side towards the County title last season and has shown he can bat against Australia's premium quick bowlers and take wickets against their top batsmen abeit all in a one-day scenario. He's a fighting cricketer. He's a winning cricketer. His fast bowling. His 6 hitting, His slip catching. (His bullet throwing arm). Remind you of a old song? Let's not go there.
All these experiences he has gone through, still as a young man, will have made him a stronger character, a tougher cricketer. And this along with all the other small indicators I have been presented with, suggest to me, that from his short international career to date, he has the potential to go very far in this game. And who knows just how far? We won't mention the AF comparison just yet, least of all because BS is his own man. But there must come a time where every young talent finally gets given the nod and gets thrown in at the deep end. I would suggest that, that time for Ben Stokes, is just around the corner.
Jamie Mann
It is almost a certainty that either Root or recently SPOTY nominated Bell will slot in at number 3 in Trotty's absence, meaning that with the top 5 all but sorted, that elusive number 6 slot is yet again up for grabs. For so long since Collingwood hung up the best hands in England, we have struggled to find a consistent batter that could solve the problem number 6 position. Morgan was inked in, until his exaggerated trigger crouch took him from world beater to county mediocrity. Bopara never really grabbed his chance, or his second chance with both hands like he should have done, and now has in the one-day arena. And everyone knows that Samit Patel only ever gets a game in the sub-continent, despite being a fantastically talented batsmen.
So that leaves us with an opportunity. Who is the next lucky man to take that slot and potentially lose it after a short run of unsuccessful games? Or will we find a talent that is too good to let the opportunity pass. Someone that will develop into a permanent fixture in the side for years and years to come. A player that is ready to fight the Aussies fire with fire, right here, right now, and show everyone around the world that he can perform at this level. I think Ben Stokes is that man. I think he is ready for the challenge.
Where else could we go, I hear you say. Well, Ballance and Bairstow are the obvious answers to this question. But both hold as much as a gamble as throwing Stokes into the second test. Bairstow is struggling for runs and has some clear flaws in his games that need to be eradicated, and Ballance has played less cricket for England than Stokes has. So there is no obvious replacement for poor Trotty. In previous years we may have pushed the panic button and sent a first-class ticket to Adelaide through the post box of Ravi Bopara, Marcus Trescothick or even Mark Ramprakash to come and 'save our tour', but those days are in the past and England's 'next cab off the rank' policy won't be ignored just because its an away Ashes series. And unless you're going to whisk in the recently qualified Sam Robson from just over the great ocean road with the EPP squad, and chuck him into the mixer, then that leaves us a straight shoot out. Its going to be between the two Yorkshire lads and our ginger-haired all-rounder for that final spot.
To be honest, I have no idea, at this stage which path England will take come Thursday morning in Adelaide, but there are without doubt cases for all 3 of these talented youngsters. Many favour Bairstow with his past experience and runs at international level. A few say go with Ballance for his raw talent, huge potential and as a somewhat unknown quantity to the opposition. This school of thought includes one of my lecturers, a cricket-person with vast knowledge, who when I spoke to yesterday morning exclaimed that, 'We have nothing to lose at number 6, runs are a bonus. Chuck him in for 4 test matches to give it a go and just play.'
I say, if that is the attitude we have and runs at number 6 really are a bonus, why not choose Stokes? He's a cricketer that fills all the boxes. Like Ballance a powerful left-hander, he can come in when we are under pressure at 60-4 and counter attack in a bid to grab back the momentum from the Aussie bowlers, or at 300-4 when he can really pump the initiative home with Matty Prior and the tail, after the top order have set a solid platform (hopefully this will be the trend for the rest of the series!). Stokes also gives the extra dimension of being able to bowl at close to 90mph, and that's exactly what everyone has been crying out for since Mitchell Johnson started to run through us on day 2 on that bouncy GABBA wicket isn't it? He really is a fearless cricketer, and at times like this we need players like him in our side. Australia are coming at us hard this time round, and if we want to win this series and take home the Ashes once again, we are going to have to find a better balance between our conservative, safe (but effective) cricket, and a more aggressive, attacking style of playing when the situation dictates. And I think Stokes' inclusion could be key to making this happen.
Now I hear my lecturers screaming, where's your academia behind this choice? And in truth, there isn't an awful lot of evidence to say that Stokes will be a fantastic international player for England. My best attempt at evidence to back up the point, would be successful players previously selected on instinct rather than stats alone. Vaughan and Trescothick both had average to poor first-class records when Fletcher gave them the call up. And look where they ended up! On last season's stats alone, Gary Ballance is the only choice, averaging over 50 last season for Yorkshire, with Stokes not even making the 30 mark. But it's not all about numbers. Ballance may well have got the hundreds and the runs under his belt for the last couple of seasons, but Stokes has played a big part in pushing his side towards the County title last season and has shown he can bat against Australia's premium quick bowlers and take wickets against their top batsmen abeit all in a one-day scenario. He's a fighting cricketer. He's a winning cricketer. His fast bowling. His 6 hitting, His slip catching. (His bullet throwing arm). Remind you of a old song? Let's not go there.
All these experiences he has gone through, still as a young man, will have made him a stronger character, a tougher cricketer. And this along with all the other small indicators I have been presented with, suggest to me, that from his short international career to date, he has the potential to go very far in this game. And who knows just how far? We won't mention the AF comparison just yet, least of all because BS is his own man. But there must come a time where every young talent finally gets given the nod and gets thrown in at the deep end. I would suggest that, that time for Ben Stokes, is just around the corner.
Jamie Mann