Hyderabad: Former cricketer Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan believes Ben Stokes' capability to bolster England's bowling and batting might help the team script a historic victory against Australia in the upcoming Ashes series.
England's maverick all-rounder Stokes is returning after a four-month break from cricket where he underwent an operation on his left index finger and took time off for mental health break.
"Ben Stokes is going to make a huge difference. You also get an extra option as a bowler because he is going to bowl his medium pace for 20-25 overs. You don't have to play that third seamer or fourth seamer. It gives them a lot of options to take an extra batsman or an extra bowler and we all know what he is capable of. If England are going to win the series, Ben Stokes will have play a very big role," Vidyut told Etv Bharat.
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On being asked if the paucity of cricket will affect Stokes' performance, the former Chennai Super Kings player reminded Stokes' brilliance at Headingley in 2019 where he single-handedly pulled England out of the gallows to chase down an improbable 359 runs after scoring 67 in the first innings against Australia.
"I think with Ben Stokes coming in... we all saw what he did in Headingley. He single-handedly won the Test match for England and the World Cup as well. Stokes was what England were missing against India. They didn't have the balance. After Joe Root got out, you had people like Bairstow, Pope who were just coming and going. They have a very unsettled middle order," he said.
"England have a great chance to write history. They have not won in a long time and they have the team to do it," the former Tamil Nadu all-rounder, who is part of the Tamil commentary panel for the upcoming Ashes Tour, added.
The last series, played in England, between the two teams ended in a 2-2 draw in 2019. In the last 42 years, England have won only twice in an Ashes series in Australia, and the team will bank on the aggressive and match-altering approach of Stokes to better their record against Australia in their own backyard.
On the parallel side of things, Australia too went through an intense logjam with selection dilemma as Tim Paine sexting scandal rattled Cricket Australia leading up to Pat Cummins captaining the team and Steve Smith becoming the vice-captain of the side.
Vidyut believes Smith would be an immense support to Cummins considering his vast experience of the sport, and the team management made the right decision of choosing Smith as vice-captain over others.
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"Australia is a pretty young side. David Warner is also pretty much on the same page as Steve Smith. I think they preferred it to give it to Steve Smith. He is a fantastic player, he is the legend of the game. He would be a very good vice-captain for somebody like Pat Cummins and Cummins is going to ball a lot.
"There will be times when he has to take the back seat. Smith is going to come and add a lot of value to this side. Australia did well in the last Ashes was due to Steve Smith's batting. As a batsman, he is going to add a lot of value to the side. He has been playing Test cricket for a long time and he had a lot of success. He is going to be a successful vice-captain. He has played the game for a long time and he knows what are the strengths and weaknesses of his side," he signed off.
Watch the 1st test of The Ashes Tour 2021, LIVE on SONY SIX (English), SONY TEN 3 (Hindi) & SONY TEN 4 (Tamil & Telugu) channels, 5:30 am IST onwards from 8th to 12th December 2021.
Ayushmaan Pandey
