After losing to Afghanistan, England are in need of a win against South Africa to get their World Cup campaign back on track. Beyond the reality of the points table, England also need to find an answer for the identity crisis they appear to be suffering.
Much like the opening game against New Zealand, the Afghanistan game saw England play a timid and tame brand of cricket. For all the talk from senior players of looking to hit bowlers twenty rows back, the majority of dismissals came from players trapped at the crease opting for awkward half-shots.
With pressure increasing, England need change, change that could be precipitated by the return of Ben Stokes.
Having missed the first three games of the World Cup with injury, Saturday appears to be the day that Ben Stokes returns to the England line up. A shoo-in for the 4 position, there still remains some debate as to which player will lose their spot.
What can be agreed upon however, is the potential effect that Stokes’ return can have on England’s fortunes. What makes Stokes so special is the way that this effect could very well be as much based on inspiration as it is performance.
For all the spiritual talk about Ben Stokes, the reality is that the man is an elite ODI batter. When he bats at 4 (10 innings) he averages 50.75 at a brisk strike rate of 108. In simple terms Stokes scores lots of runs and he does it quickly. Given England have been short of runs so far this tournament, this record makes for a healthy addition to the team.
Looking deeper, the style of Stokes’ game only adds to how powerful a weapon he can be. For one, he’s remarkably busy. One of England’s problems against Afghanistan was an inability to rotate strike.
If you’re not hitting boundaries at least make sure you’re not getting stuck. In last month’s series against New Zealand, Stokes had the exceptionally low dot ball percentage of 39.9%. For a man with any number of niggles, he knows how to get to the other end.
On top of this, his profile as an aggressive left-hander makes for a valuable point of difference. With Moeen Ali outside the team, England’s middle order is filled with right handers.
In the white ball formats this opens up teams to barrages of leg spin and left arm orthodox spin, the latter being a threat offered by South Africa’s Keshav Maharaj. Stokes coming back into the team at 4 means that he can go after the ball turning in to him, something he categorically did against NZ. Facing only 26 balls, he hit four sixes with an overall strike rate of 138.5.
As a player it is clear how special Stokes is, but there still remains something to be said about what he represents.
Over the last week, there has been plenty of talk about what Ben Stokes means to his teammates. A term that has popped up a few times is that of being a ‘spiritual leader’. Looking at his work with the Test team, even as outsiders we can see how much Stokes inspires his peers.
In particular we see his ability to convince others to overlook a fear of failure. Right now, England have the look of a team who are frozen. They don’t have the unwavering confidence that Eoin Morgan fostered, but they are still a supremely talented team. What they might need is the presence on the field of a man who radiates that sense of self-assuredness in his style of play.
Ben Stokes as a player has one of the finest track records about when it comes to getting the job done, but Ben Stokes the figure might have just as important a role to play.
