Cricket-Match-Special ... A forum for discussion

The Aussie media I've seen is reflecting quite sadly on the state of the series without him

Not sure I see it that way. He's a good fourth seamer. He's one of ENgland's better batters, but that reflects poorly on the other options. But he's not irreplaceable by normal standards. Root would be a much greater loss.

I think he's more of a miss in the ODI side.

Ben's absence will be a loss imo. England will miss his tons in some tests and his wickets in some tests. Also he is one of the top fielders in England team. I just don't see how England are going to get even an equally good all-rounder.

His unavailability will weaken the side. But they have all rounders in Mo, Bairstow and Woakes. Another bowler would strengthen the bowling while still leaving Woakes at eight. Stokes' batting will be missed because England's options are so weak. Not because Stokes is a world class bat, like Root.

On the other hand, Stokes is an improving player, so perhaps he might have had an Ashes better than his past would indicate, a series winning effort like Flintoff and Botham. But, that future is unwritten.

I've just read Vic Marks say that Stokes is crucial to the balancing of the side. But that doesn't even begin to be true. Bairstow is a keeper and a consummate top six batter. Moeen is the preferred spin option and as a number seven, a better bat than the numbers 2/3/5. And in the tail, England will have a batter with as good a fc batting record as Woakes. A specialist bowler will come in, presumably Overton or Ball or whoever is called up. England's biggest problem will remain numbers 2/3/5 and the balance of the side will remain their greatest strength.

I'm really not quite sure what people mean by the 'balance' of a side. It's seems to be one of those words that's bandied about all the time these days, but no one really ever explains what it means.

Get a great long plank, shove it on a oil drum, get half the team on one side and half the team on the other, and see whether it balances?

For me Stokes, Bairstow and Ali balance the shite that comes in at 2,3 and 5, so if Stokes isn't there, that plank is going to be sat firmly on the ground at one end!

Balance gets you five bowlers, seven batters and one keeper into XI.

Durhamfootman wrote:that's what I thought too.

not that I'm comparing the 2 incidents, you understand.

I was!

I also think that Rooney's drink driving criminal conviction was worse than both Warner and Stokes, and he got no football ban whatsoever.

Arthur Crabtree wrote:Balance gets you five bowlers, seven batters and one keeper into XI.

Ballance gets you five bowlers, six batters and one keeper.

Is Stokes does not tour then i would think you would put Ali to 6 and put another bowler in?

Ali has been one of the best bats of late.

yuppie wrote:Is Stokes does not tour then i would think you would put Ali to 6 and put another bowler in?

Ali has been one of the best bats of late.

That would upset the balance of the team, he's only 9 stone six.

budgetmeansbudget wrote:

yuppie wrote:Is Stokes does not tour then i would think you would put Ali to 6 and put another bowler in?

Ali has been one of the best bats of late.

That would upset the balance of the team, he's only 9 stone six.

There is still time for him to put on some weight before the ashes. Full protien diet and in 2 months he will be Patels weight. Perfect balance for the team.

If Stokes dosen't go, then I'd take Plunkett

booth saying maybe Stoke situation wasn't a surprised since outside the western test nations, they all say england are the worse behaved team and in particular anderson and Stokes are horrible people.
"English cricket likes to tell itself that the Australians lead the way when it comes to sledging and on-field boorishness. But in recent years, Test cricket’s non-western teams have been appalled by some of the behaviour of England’s players, especially Stokes and Jimmy Anderson. Most of us have turned a blind eye."

"That never happened, and has now been overtaken in the saddest manner imaginable. But a far better plan was staring them in the face: simply ask Stokes to pipe down, and trust his natural ability to do the talking."

apprently during SA test, Stokes went drinking way late in the evening and the newspapers were persuaded not to report it to disrupt the team and the player.
"One or two did try to nip this all in the bud. When the Daily Mail were dissuaded from publishing a story in late July after Stokes had enjoyed a late night out in Manchester during the Test against South Africa, he received a rebuke from his manager Neil Fairbrother.

The gist of it was that Stokes risked, like Wayne Rooney, becoming a fixture on the back pages – for the wrong reasons. That warning fell on deaf ears. If and when Stokes gets another chance, he will pay more attention. The hope is that English cricket listens carefully too. "

Ben Stokes should be banned from cricket for life say the family of the gentle, non aggressive, ex army hero, non homophobic, loving family man with a child.