England await 'spiritual leader' Big Ben’s return

Having missed the first three games, the allrounder is set to play his first 2023 World Cup game on Saturday

England’s current white-ball set-up has an army of batting marauders; yet when self-doubts creep in following the early defeats in the World Cup campaign, you search for inspiration. To their advantage, the defending champions need to look no further than the tallest leader in the group, Ben Stokes.

England's Ben Stokes during practice (REUTERS)

After the loss against Afghanistan, in the presence of white-ball captain Jos Buttler and white-ball head coach Matthew Mott, England’s red-ball captain is known to have delivered a stirring lecture in the dressing room. Speaking to the English media, Mott called Stokes ‘the spiritual leader of the group’, who spoke of the need for the team to assert themselves.

Stokes had given a similar pep-talk after losing to Ireland last year in the T20 World Cup, after which they didn’t lose a game including the final. But the difference then was that Stokes was fitter and could show the way. He bowled the first ball in the final against Pakistan at Melbourne and was there to score the winning the run. Here, a third of the World Cup league stage is over and Stokes is yet to take field.

This has been the story of 2023 for the star all-rounder. Chennai Super Kings’ ₹16.25 crore signing, Stokes sat out of most of their IPL campaign; first due to the injured knee and later, for team composition. Back in the ODI fray after reversing his retirement decision, a hip niggle has kept him consigned to the dug-out in India.

Invested as he is with the action – no wonder he is Virat Kohli’s favourite current cricketer – nothing has stopped Stokes, wearing the substitutes’ bib, from coming up with ideas for the captain during the drinks interval. But so delicately are England placed after losses to New Zealand and Afghanistan, that a further delay in Stokes’ return may almost make it too late - they may need to win five out of their remaining six league matches.

Stokes is still unfit to bowl but he can bat, we know. All indications from the England camp show that Stokes’ first World Cup sighting could be against South Africa on Saturday in Mumbai.

“I haven't had a report on him in the last 24 hours, but before that, he was on target. Fingers crossed, he can tick off all the things that need to be ticked off and he comes back into that side,” Mott said on Tuesday.

PLAYING WITH PAIN

Stokes like his CSK captain MS Dhoni knows how to hobble his way to glory. Like Dhoni, Stokes has a high endurance to pain. Dhoni continued to squat behind the stumps and played every IPL game till the title was won, despite carrying a knee injury, which ultimately required surgery. Stokes has delayed his own knee surgery, first to play the Ashes, then the ongoing World Cup.

Statistics tell you little about Stokes, the ODI cricketer. His differential average used to judge an all-rounder (batting – bowling avg) is – 1.89. But Buttler was more than willing to tweak his playing combinations and welcome Stokes into the World Cup squad; for he has seen first-hand, how damaging the 32-year-old can be to opposition plans.

Only last month, the left-hander scored England’s highest ever ODI individual score of 182 against New Zealand. In the Ashes, visibly in pain, Stokes plundered runs during his 155 at Lord’s and the match-changing 80 at the Headingley Test.

With Harry Brook being one of the few in-form batters in the tournament, Stokes’ return may force England to make further tweaks to their playing combinations. But that looks inevitable, with most of the squad so far throwing up underwhelming performances with bat and bowl.

Stokes to this England side, is the messenger of hope and change. "We know when we go into that mode and we're not as forceful and aggressive, other teams grow from that. That was one of Stokesy's biggest points - we're normally the team that dictates terms and gets the other team unsettled, disrupted. And for whatever reason, we haven't been able to do that. It's quite clear what we need to do," Mott said.