2 weeks Ago By Evan Bartlett
Perhaps the most unnerving thing about England’s series defeat in Pakistan was the fact captain Ben Stokes was so off his game. For a player who has so often performed superhuman feats to get his team out of trouble, here he appeared a mere mortal. Stokes managed just 53 runs at an average of 13.
24 across the two Tests he played. He only bowled 10 overs, taking no wickets. Yet the tell-tale sign that all was not well was his uncharacteristic inertia in the field.
This was most apparent when Saud Shakeel was allowed to accumulate 86 singles during what proved to be a match-winning knock of 134 during the series decider in Rawalpindi. For a captain who is known for being so proactive, Stokes let the game drift on the second afternoon as Pakistan fought back from 177 for seven to take a decisive 77-run first-innings lead. Read Next Ben Stokes' injury is worse than first feared - England should be very worried This was not the Stokes we have come to know in the Bazball era , the out-of-the-box thinker whose bold fields and deft changes of bowlers have been his calling cards since taking on the captaincy in the summer of 2022.
It is obvious that Stokes has been badly affected by the hamstring injury he sustained during the Hundred in early August. He has not been himself in Pakistan and not just because he has been dropped straight into a Test series after more than two months out. In terms of fitness, the 33-year-old was adamant after what is only his second series defeat as captain that he is close to 100 per cent.
But match fitness is another matter and the fact he did not bowl in the final Test was an indication of that, even if Stokes insisted it was purely tactical. More pertinently, there were signs in this series he was finding things tough mentally. It explains the pair of bizarre second-innings dismissals to Noman Ali in the final two Tests.
In Multan he was stumped charging down the track to Pakistan’s left-arm spinner, so out of control he lost the grip on his bat and sent it into orbit. On the final day in Rawalpindi, he shouldered arms and was trapped lbw as the ball cannoned into his crotch. Both were indications of a scrambled mind.
And coach Brendon McCullum admitted the captain’s lack of clarity in his own game might have filtered down through the ranks. “We all know how competitive and driven the skipper is,” McCullum said. “He’ll be hurting right now.
It’s my job to make sure I’m there to support him and make sure we still remain very on task with what we are trying to do as a collective and our messaging to the group about how we want to keep playing cricket moving forward. “Sometimes as leaders if you do suffer a little bit of disappointment yourself it can be very easy to allow that to permeate through in your messaging to the group. But one thing since Stokesy came on board as captain, he’s been very clear and precise about how he wants his team to play.
I think what’s really important is to never flinch with that. Stay true to it, even if you’re struggling yourself. You’ve still got to keep using the same messaging.
” Stokes himself admitted after the defeat in Rawalpindi: “It’s felt like a very long tour. For me it’s been coming out here to try and get fit for the first Test – I wasn’t fit for that – get fit for the second Test, play that and straight into the third. So it’s been a tour of not many days off to get ready to go.
” Stokes’s focus was clearly affected by his fitness issues but McCullum is confident he come back strongly for the three-Test series in New Zealand that starts in Christchurch on 28 November. Read Next It’s time for England to drop Ollie Pope “Look, that was quite a significant injury,” McCullum said. “He had to work incredibly hard to get back.
He had to put in a lot of graft there and sub-consciously it can...
not cloud things, but maybe you’re not quite as screwed down as you can be in terms of decision making. “That’s natural, as long as you learn from that and make sure next time you’re presented with that situation you’re able to block out the noise and stay crystal clear in the moment. “He’s disappointed but he’s our skipper and we know he’s a tough bugger.
He’ll make sure he’ll come back and it’s our job to make sure we wrap our arms around him and help him along the way. “He’ll be better for the run no doubt, a couple of weeks off, freshen up and back to conditions which are a bit more similar to back in England . It’s another opportunity for us.
” The fact that opportunity will begin in Christchurch, the city where Stokes was born and where he will be surrounded by family, including his mum Deborah, can only help. He has had a rough ride in Pakistan but his record in Asia has been patchy of late, illustrated by a batting average of 18 in seven Tests on the sub-continent this year. New Zealand, albeit against a team who will be buoyant still from their historic series win in India , will be a fresh start for Stokes.
Don’t rule out England’s talisman storming back to end the year with more superhuman feats in the land of his birth..
