It will be a big shame for England if they have to play the upcoming Ashes against Australia without Ben Stokes. But former Aussie all-rounder Greg Blewett stated that with or without Stokes, England is set to lose the Ashes.
Vice-captain Ben Stokes and opener Alex Hales were suspended for an indefinite time after an altercation outside a nightclub in Bristol last week. Their selection depends on how the investigation process pans out.
Stokes was part of the original 16-member squad which was named for the Ashes starting in November, but the England and the Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has made it clear Stokes can only be part of the squad if the charges put against him are proven wrong. Blewett, a former Australia all-rounder who scored a century on debut against England during the 1994-95 series expressed his doubts on the participation of Stokes for the full Ashes series.
“I’m sure they will (sanction him). They are having their internal investigation. That will play out,” Blewett was quoted as saying by Reuters during an interview in Adelaide on Tuesday. “It would be a shame if he’s not out here. I think everyone wants to play against the strongest possible team.
“It would be a shame if he doesn’t come out because he’s a bit of a drawcard, he’s a world-class all-rounder and will leave a massive hole in their team.
“But even if he was (to come), I think Australia is going to be too good at home anyway. With or without Ben Stokes I don’t see a different result, but I think England would love to have him on their side,” he further added.
The Sun Newspaper published a footage of the brawl which took place between the player and two other people who were engaging themselves in a quarrel over a bottle. Reuters couldn’t verify the authenticity of the images as of now.
Reports suggest the all-rounder suffered a minor fracture on a finger in his right hand and he went and apologised to ECB for the same. He described his current state of mind as ‘fragile and devastated’.
Blewett who was the fielding coach of Australia before stepping down in August said he would not have a great opinion on any player who could be out drinking and partying at the wee hours of the morning especially before a match day.
“I wouldn’t be over the moon, put it that way because I did see the footage and it’s not great,” Blewett said, referring to the video posted by The Sun.
“I’m sure he’s got his side to the story which we haven’t necessarily heard yet. Yeah, you would be disappointed, I think they were only a couple of days away from the next one-day international, so I think any coach would be disappointed with that sort of behaviour.”
Following the Stokes incident, there has been a debate circling at whether curfews should be put in place during the series, but Blewett was against any such measures.
“Generally, you’d say players these days are a hell of a lot more professional than what we used to be. These things don’t pop up all that often these days, but when they do, obviously you need to address it,” Blewett said.
Blewett was of the opinion that Australia’s formidable pace attack led by left-arm speedster Mitchell Starc will provide the toughest challenge to the relatively inexperienced English middle-order which hasn’t been proven yet barring captain Joe Root and Alistair Cook.
“Two or three of those guys in the squad haven’t had a great start to their careers. It is not going to get any easier when they come out here.
“And it’s looking like Australia are going to be full strength with their bowling attack so (they) are going to be up against it,” Blewett signed off.