"They have to get Ben Stokes in" - Michael Vaughan calls for inclusion of star all-rounder after shock Afghanistan defeat
Former England captain Micheal Vaughan recently pushed for the inclusion of talismanic all-rounder Ben Stokes after the side suffered a shock defeat to Afghanistan on October 15.
Stokes was included in the England World Cup squad following his decision to reverse his ODI retirement to partake in the marquee event. However, a hip injury has ruled the 32-year-old out of all three of England's games so far in the tournament.
Following their thumping at the hands of New Zealand on opening day, the defending champions appeared to be back on track with a massive 137-run win against Bangladesh. Yet, the surprising 69-run defeat to Afghanistan has England teetering on the edge, with several pundits calling for changes.
In his column for The Telegraph, Michael Vaughan insisted on England drafting Stokes back in the side but not at the expense of Harry Brook, who was the lone shining light in the Afghanistan debacle.
"They have to get Ben Stokes in. It would be surprising if the one who looked half decent against Afghanistan, Harry Brook, was to miss out for Stokes. In competitions, you stick with those feeling confident especially after a defeat. You don’t drop the one player who looked good," Vaughan said.
In a stuttering batting display, England folded for a paltry 215 in their run-chase of 285, with Harry Brook being the lone half-centurion.
"Stokes perhaps just comes in for Chris Woakes and Atkinson for Sam Curran. It packs batting enabling England to be ultra aggressiveness for longer. It just needs Joe Root and Liam Livingstone to fill in some overs, which is a gamble in Mumbai where you know one or two bowlers could take a hiding. England have no choice though. They need Stokes’s presence and Atkinson’s pace," Vaughan added.
Chris Woakes and Sam Curran have struggled ao far in the World Cup, conceding runs at an alarmingly high rate of 7.50 and 8.07 runs per over. To worsen matters, the duo lacked penetration, picking up four wickets combined in the three games.
"They were timid against Afghanistan" - Michael Vaughan
Michael Vaughan expressed disappointment at the England batters resorting to the pre-2015 days when they were often criticized for playing an outdated and defensive style against Afghanistan.
With the pitch in Delhi assisting spin, several English batters began to push and prod off the backfoot and were trapped LBW or bowled. The identical batting style led to England's ousting in the 2015 World Cup before the quarter-final stage.
"They look like the old days where as soon as ball nips or spins they play more sensibly. They were timid against Afghanistan. I would rather have seen them getting caught on the boundary than prodding. Look at the way Livingstone got out, just flicking across the line. I would rather he was caught at long on going for it. Brook the same, caught behind. I would rather see him reverse sweeping, getting caught at backward point – just showing more intent," wrote Vaughan.
The former captain also felt that with a compromised bowling attack, England would have to strive for above-par scores to compete with the other contenders.
"For England to compete in this World Cup it is the batting that has to do the damage because their bowling on these wickets is not good enough. If the ball zips around there are three or four other teams that have more pace than England," Vaughan stated.
"If it is spinning, I don’t have England in the top three best spin attacks in the competition so the only way they get back in the World Cup is making over-par scores and dominating with the bat, putting opposing bowlers under huge amounts of pressure. It will give their own bowlers more runs to play with as well," Vaughan signed off.
Following the horrendous 2015 World Cup exit, a transferred batting approach resulted in the side winning their 2019 edition and the 2022 T20 World Cup.
Jos Buttler's side will have nearly a week to regroup before the massive encounter against South Africa in Mumbai on Saturday, October 21.