Ashes 2023: England Selectors To Try Test Skipper Ben Stokes As An Opener In The Ashes Series Against Australia - Reports
Published - 20 May 2023, 05:33 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:15 AM
England’s selectors are considering Test skipper Ben Stokes as an opener for the much-anticipated Ashes series against their arch-rivals Australia at home, next month. According to the reports, England’s team management would give Ben Stokes a chance at the top of the order in the marquee event.
Ben Stokes played the majority of his Test career at No. 5 and No. 6 in the batting order. However, the left-handed batter opened the innings once and played No. 3 to No. 11 in all positions at least once. The southpaw scored an unbeaten 78 runs off 57 balls against the West Indies as an opener in July 2020.
IPL 2023 | Dream11 Prediction | Fantasy Cricket Tips | Cricket Match Prediction Today | Cricket News | Cricket Live Score
According to the reports in the Times, England selectors discussed the idea of opening with Ben Stokes as a specialist batter, which allows them to play with four seamers. The Three Lions won nine Tests out of 11 matches as part of their ‘Bazball’ approach under Brendon McCullum’s coaching style over the past 12 months.
Ben Stokes is currently representing the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023. The England Test captain played in the first two matches of the tournament before missing the remaining matches. The right-arm pacer isn’t fully fit to bowl, and he needs some more time to regain his full fitness.
IPL 2023 | India National Cricket Team | Chennai Super Kings (CSK) | Delhi Capitals (DC) | Gujarat Titans (GT) | Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) | Lucknow Supergiants (LSG) | Mumbai Indians (MI) | Punjab Kings (PBKS) | Rajasthan Royals (RR) | Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) | SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH)
Why Expose Him To The New Ball – Allan Border
Speaking on the topic, former Australian skipper Allan Border believes that it will be a gamble as Ben Stokes will be exposed to the swinging new ball.
“Stokes is such a good player, I don’t know whether I’d be throwing him into that situation, Why expose him to the new ball when you don’t have to? He can win games from anywhere I suppose, but we saw in (2019) how dangerous he is down the order and with the tail,” Allan Border said on Fox Sports.
That’d Be A Crazy Move – Brendon Julian
Former Australian all-rounder Brendon Julian termed it a crazy move and said that they wanted to be aggressive against Australia at home.
“That’d be a crazy move, I wouldn’t be getting too involved in the way they’re playing. If they want to be aggressive and take it on, so be it,” Brendon Julian added.
England will host the Ashes series, with the first Test beginning at Edgbaston in Birmingham on June 16. The second test will take place at Lord’s Cricket Ground, the third at Headingley in Leeds, the fourth at Emirates Old Trafford in Manchester, and the final match at Kennington Oval in London.
Virat Kohli | Rohit Sharma | Rishabh Pant | KL Rahul | Suryakumar Yadav | Sanju Samson | Shreyas Iyer | Yuzvendra Chahal | Jasprit Bumrah
