3 reasons why Ben Stokes' absence from Sri Lanka Tests is a big blow to England
As if The Hundred wasn't getting enough criticism for being "utterly meaningless", "waste" and other similar adjectives from the English media -- it consumed Test skipper Ben Stokes' summer as the all-rounder walked injured during the Northern Superchargers' clash against the Manchester Originals.
He's now ruled out of England's Test tour of Sri Lanka, comprising three Tests, which begins on August 21. It doesn't sound that difficult or that big a deal either because England are too far off from making the World Test Championship final.
But this was England's chance to set down the marker in spin-friendly Sri Lanka in the Stokes-Brendon McCullum era after the 4-1 rout in India earlier in the year. In that regard, Stokes' absence is a massive blow. Here, we explain that in detail:
#3 Ollie Pope has no Test captaincy experience
Sri Lanka has been a happy hunting ground for England in the last few years -- they have won the last two Test rubbers here which has meant that their last series defeat here came in 2007-08. But they'd also take this Sri Lankan team lightly at their own peril.
The women's Asia Cup win has seemed to have lit a light in Sri Lanka, where the entire country seems behind the team like they haven't in a long time. The impact was also seen when the hosts drubbed India 2-0 in the recent bilateral ODI series for the first time in 27 years.
England would have loved Stokes' charismatic leadership against a team on the rise. His replacement, vice-captain Ollie Pope, is a different kind of a leader -- quieter, less assuming and more of a team player than a frontman.
It's not to say that those characteristics can't or won't work here but he'll need to hit the ground running in getting his teammates to work him, under a possibly much different style than they are used to. With James Anderson and Stuart Broad gone and Joe Root submitting to a more subdued role since giving up captaincy, the team around him also seems like the one who'll look at him for direction.
More importantly, Pope doesn't have any Test captaincy experience, which could give Sri Lanka a lot to exploit on the field. It's not the easiest of places to set your fields because matches sometimes change in an instant and trudge along on other days, demanding patience and restraint instead of mindless attacking.
Stokes seemed to have been mastering that art slowly but surely. Although Pope has spent the best part of his career with him, this will be a mammoth challenge and will ask for a special outing from the youngster.
#2 BazBall in Sri Lanka would have needed Stokes' spin-hitting
One thing that Pope would probably be told from the outset would be that England won't change their style. They'll still go BazBall -- i.e., attack when you can with the bat and be aggressive on the field with the ball.
They have done it quite well across a lot of different conditions but they have found the most success on flatter tracks. Sri Lanka would be far from it -- they'll probably prepare spin minefields and deploy four specialist tweakers who'll bowl with discipline.
To continue the philosophy, England would need players to dominate spin to go alongside Root and Pope's sweeping abilities. With Zak Crawley out with injury and now Stokes -- among the best in the world in counter-attacking spinners when the chips are down -- also out, England might find it hard to continue to play with the same intent.
Brendon McCullum would know that BazBall can continue only when the entire team believes in it, every day. Faltering against Sri Lanka's spinners -- who'd be extra prepared after seeing India strangling the visitors -- would be too easy for McCullum's liking.
#1 No ready good enough replacements
Finally, Stokes is equally hard to replace as a player as captain. That is perhaps why the team didn't add any players to the squad to replace him.
England squad for Sri Lanka Tests: Ollie Pope (captain), Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Harry Brook, Jordan Cox, Ben Duckett, Dan Lawrence, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes, and Mark Wood.
The team looks quite light on spin resources for touring Sri Lanka. Any 11 that comes out of it would also seem a bit unbalanced without Stokes, who had only just started to get his bowling rhythm back.
With the skipper, England would have been able to play him and Woakes with another specialist pacer, making it a deep batting line-up with space to add another spinner. Stokes' utilization of seam positions would have also been a difference maker in the country -- a fact that's supported by his bowling average of 20.40 for five wickets here.
A lack of like-for-like replacement in the country for Stokes makes this team look quite thin on paper. If Sri Lanka turn up at their best, they'd be quite difficult to beat.