“Ben Stokes’ role in the team is not an easy one” - Eoin Morgan
England’s limited-overs captain Eoin Morgan has said that Ben Stokes has a tough job to perform in the middle-order for the team in T20Is, but he has the skills to pull it off.
Stokes contributed 24 off 21 in England’s total of 164 for 6 in the second T20I against India on Sunday. With the T20 World Cup coming up, the all-rounder has a massive role to play in the team.
Asked if England are still trying to figure out Stokes’ role in the batting order, Eoin Morgan explained that the all-rounder is aware of his role, but his task is a challenging and versatile one. Eoin Morgan said in this regard:
“He has a role in the middle-order. Again, we saw the way Ben (Stokes) played, it is not an easy role. You need guys that play the situation of the game and don’t bother about taking risks when the team needs it. Ben is the guy who has that attitude and definitely the skills to do it.”
Batting first, England struggled to get going. Except for Jason Roy (46 off 35), none of the other batters could make much of an impression. Dawid Malan, Jonny Bairstow, Eoin Morgan and Stokes all fell in their 20s as England could not get the desired final flourish.
Eoin Morgan reveals why he batted at No. 5
Eoin Morgan and Ben Stokes exchanged their batting positions from the series against South Africa. While Stokes batted at five against the Proteas and Eoin Morgan at six, it was the other way round on Sunday.
Explaining the change in batting position, the England captain said:
“The decision behind it is primarily about trying to get me into the game while the seamers are on and not necessarily the spinners. It actually didn’t work out that well. They continued to bowl spin more than seam. My record against seam coming in at that stage is better than against spin. So that’s why we made this call.”
After England were restricted to 164, their bowlers also failed to make much of an impression on a surface that got easier to bat on. While KL Rahul was dismissed for a duck, Ishan Kishan made a memorable debut with 56 off 32, and Indian captain Virat Kohli remained unbeaten on 73 off 49.
With the seven-wicket triumph on Sunday, India levelled the five-match series 1-1.