England head coach Chris Silverwood says Australia will be wary of Ben Stokes in The Ashes following his Headingley heroics in 2019; all-rounder’s return means Jonny Bairstow and Ollie Pope are fighting it out for one spot in the middle order in Brisbane
Last Updated: 05/12/21 6:53pm
Ben Stokes is ready for the opening Ashes Test in Brisbane and Australia will be wary of the threats the England all-rounder poses after being “hurt” by him before.
That’s the view of head coach Chris Silverwood with Stokes set to play his first Test since March and first full international of any kind since July after a spell away from the game rehabbing a finger injury and prioritising his mental wellbeing.
Australia coach Justin Langer spoke earlier this weekend about how Stokes’ tireless bowling and stunning unbeaten 135, which helped England to a one-wicket win in the 2019 Leeds Ashes Test, still give him “nightmares”.
“From a readiness point of view he looks good to go. He is a superstar, isn’t he?” Silverwood said of Stokes ahead of The Ashes opener at The Gabba from Wednesday.
“I think it is massive, really. We felt a lift when his name came back into the hat for being on tour in the first place. We love having him around and not just from his cricket point of view.
“He is lively around the dressing-room, he is a leader in his own right. People listen to him and he has a lot of things to share.
“From a cricketing point of view, we’ve seen how devastating he is with bat and ball at times. Certainly, that knock at Headingley [in 2019] will be hurting the Australians, it did hurt them and will still be hurting for a while to come.
“They will be wary of him as a cricketer. They know what he can do, what he is capable of and they know he can take anybody down.”
Stokes’ return means Jonny Bairstow, who scored a century in Perth on England’s previous Ashes tour, and Ollie Pope, who hit 81 in his previous Test against India at The Kia Oval in September, are battling for one spot.
Silverwood said: “Jonny has good experiences and memories of playing here, he has been successful here before.
“Then you have the promise of young Ollie. We know he is a good player, and have to take in the fact the wickets here will suit the way he plays.
“We saw him get some good runs at the end of last summer at The Oval and we know his pedigree is very good.
“Those are all things that will be thrown in the mix and taken into consideration. It’s one of the talking points we have at the moment.
“As we stand it is about keeping a close eye on the two of them and we will make a decision closer to the time over who we think is the right man to go into that. Both of them are playing well at the moment in the nets.”
If they feel confident enough [to name thei team] right now then good on them. It is not my job to make decisions for them. We will be keeping our options open as we always do.
Chris Silverwood on Australia naming Ashes XI already
Rain has impacted the build-up to the first Test and is forecast to return during the game at The Gabba.
When asked about the possible nature of England’s bowling attack, Silverwood added: “We’re giving ourselves every option.
“We have Woody [Mark Wood] here, but we’ve got other bowlers with great skill sets as well. Yes, we like pace and I know it’s one of the things I banged on about early on when we talked about the Ashes.
“But we have been successful with an attack which hasn’t really had that pace of Wood or people like that in it. I will make sure [captain] Joe (Root) has plenty of choice to go in whichever direction he wants.”