Nasser Hussain wants Stokes to deliberately get banned before Ashes
What's the story?
Ben Stokes, who is known for his fiery temper will have to keep his calm during the Ashes in order to avoid a one match ban during the prestigious tournament.
Former English captain Nasser Hussain feels that the Australian cricketers would target Stokes and sledge him in order for him to earn a demerit point.
“People know that Stokes has a fiery temper so will try to get him to react. This winter the Aussies will be going at him with subtle little digs around the bat, knowing that he’s liable to gob off and possibly get banned for a Test.
Hussain also went on to say that he would like Stokes to earn a demerit point against West Indies so that he could get banned before the Ashes.
"If I were (England captain Joe) Root I’d be tempted to tell him to get another demerit point during the third Test at Lord’s (against the Windies), so he’d reach the four-point threshold for a ban and miss two of the forthcoming one-day matches, for which he may have been rested anyway, rather than an Ashes game.”
In case you didn't know...
Stokes who is currently playing the second Test against West Indies in Leeds has three demerit points to his name.
He earned his first demerit point in October 2016 and second one in November 2016 before getting the third one in this Test.
According to the new rules which came into place a few months ago, four demerit points would hand a player a one match ban.
Quite a few cricketers have been banned due to the new system including South Africa's Kagiso Rabada and India's Ravindra Jadeja.
The details:
Stokes is known to get under the skin of his compatriots on the field. Most recently, his sledging led to a confrontation with Bangladesh's Tamim Iqbal in the ICC Champions Trophy 2017.
The Ashes are scheduled to begin in November and England would look to defend their Ashes crown. However, they will have their task cut out as they travel down under to face their rivals.
The Australian cricket team are known for sledging and would leave no holds barred against England's best all-rounder.
What's next?
England will take on West Indies in the third and final Test at Lords on September 7 before taking on them in 5 ODIs.
Author's take:
Stokes has got himself in a lot of trouble due to his fiery nature on the field and it won't come as any surprise if he gets banned for one match very soon.
Hussain's idea might actually work well for Stokes. If he gets done with his ban before the end of the West Indies series, he should be available for the entire Ashes and not miss a single game.