Big Ben Stokes, now is his time

Young, talented and full of potential, Ben Stokes is sure to play a prominent part in the future of English cricket. Making his debut in test cricket, he has a real chance to prove himself, maintain his place in the team and establish himself as a permanent feature in this England side in all forms of the game. Despite only bowling 8 overs today, it was enough to get a quick glimpse of him to show that, above all, he has the temperament for international cricket. His first ball was smack on a length outside off stump allowing Watson to let it sail through to Prior. His speeds were consistent and by maintaining tight lines, he gave the Aussie batsmen few scoring opportunities.

The England Method

England’s test team have an uncanny ability to not lose. Currently they have gone 12 matches without a loss and against this Australian team they look like they are set to continue the trend. You would think that to go unbeaten in so many matches,  they would have played a high standard of cricket, but in my opinion they have been below their best since losing the number one ranked spot in test cricket. So, how have England maintained their unbeaten record?

To win a test match, a team must take 20 opposition wickets. England makes this incredibly difficult. Their top order is resilient and will happily bat all day. Cook and Trott are two of the best in the world at just occupying the crease. Trott’s consistency is remarkable and Cook rarely gives his wicket away after getting a start. Despite this they have struggled in the current ashes series with Trott being horribly out of form and the pressure of captaincy is finally having an impact on Cook’s batting performances. I’m sure this is a rare blip and they’ll be back to their best soon.