Ben Stokes has called on-field aggravation in cricket “theatre” for spectators that should not be policed too zealously. If that is going to remain the case, however, the all-rounder wants consistency for all players, irrespective of who they are or which team they play for.
In what has at times been a fractious series between England and India, Stokes goes into Friday’s fifth Test as still the sole combatant on either side to be disciplined after he received an ICC reprimand and points on his record in Mohali for swearing at Virat Kohli in response to a perceived send-off.
The India captain went unpunished for his role, while Ravi Ashwin was similarly not sanctioned for his confrontation with Jimmy Anderson in the middle during the dying embers of the fourth Test in Mumbai (in which he escorted the No11 down the pitch and offered some choice words in response to comments in a press conference), leaving a lingering sense of inconsistency.
“It’s theatre for people who want to see it,” Stokes said. “It’s part of the game, so I don’t see any reason why they should try to clamp down on it so quickly. But if it’s going to be one rule, it’s got to be the same rule for everyone. You can’t just be letting certain people get away with certain things and not others. I think that side of the game can be just jumped on and people get slapped with fines and all that stuff. But if you’re going to do someone then you’ve got to do the next person no matter who they are or who they play for.”
Asked if he felt certain players – Kohli and Ashwin in particular – were being protected by match officials, Stokes said: “I don’t know, I don’t look into it that much. But as I say, whoever is deciding who is going to get what disciplinary action against them, it should be the same for everyone.”
While Stokes, bar reminders over bad language near stump microphones, has avoided such flashpoints since the Mohali incident, he expects future run-ins with Kohli given their fiery characters. He holds him in high regard, however, claiming to have learned plenty from watching the right-hander compile the 640 runs that have powered India to a series win.
“We’re both very competitive people who let our emotions show. It probably won’t be the last time we’re both involved in something but I don’t hold grudges,” Stokes said. “He is one of the batsmen of our time and you’ve just got to hold your hands up to him and appreciate the player that he is.
“I stand at slip to the spinners and the guys who have got runs out here, their footwork has been the biggest thing that has stood out. They very rarely get beaten, playing and missing, with defensive shots. They are either right forward or right back. They pick the length and know what to do with it. Even though they have been scoring lots of runs against us, you do look at them and understand why they are being successful.”
Stokes, who became the latest player to back Alastair Cook’s continuation as captain, insisted England will not drop their intensity in the final Test, which starts on Friday, and echoed the head coach, Trevor Bayliss, in stating the squad remain in a positive frame of mind at the end of a gruelling tour. The upbeat nature of the squad should not be interpreted as one that lacks a bit of creative tension.
“We still have the odd disagreement about things. Me and Jimmy had a bit of a fallout and didn’t speak to each other for two days. I can’t remember what about,” he said. “We are a tight group but being Mr Nice Guy or whatever isn’t the reason we haven’t done well.
“I think [in] every Test we’ve been that one wicket away from making the game ours but they’ve always been able to put on a partnership when five or six down. Kohli and Jayant Yadav did that to us in Mumbai when we could have taken the chances when Kohli was on 68 and he ended up getting a double hundred, and Yadav was dropped and he got a hundred as well.
“It is those things that have let us down throughout the whole series. From everyone’s point of view, we’ve lost the series and no matter the result India will still be walking out as winners.
“But we’re a team that want to go back 3-1 not 4-0. We want to win this game as much as we’ve wanted to win every game so far, so we’ll be going out there with the same intent as we have done before and hopefully we get a better result.”
On a personal level, Stokes can reflect on some development to his game on the subcontinent. While his fielding continues to be gold standard – some of his crazed pursuits of balls racing to the boundary have taken commitment to a new level – his batting in particular has shown signs of improvement given the struggles during the series against Pakistan last winter in which he averaged only 13.
In the six Tests against Bangladesh and India he has scored 444 runs at an average of 40.36, with his match-winning 85 in Chittagong, the century in the draw at Rajkot and 70 in the defeat in Visakhapatnam all seeing his naturally aggressive game reined in. With the ball he has claimed 18 wickets at 21.77 – including five for 89 in Mohali – but he has admitted consistency remains an issue.
Stokes said: “I’ve been happy-ish, I guess. I would have liked to carry on the consistency I showed from Bangladesh and the first couple of Tests out here I would have liked to contribute more runs as the series has gone on rather than have it all in the first and second Test.
“Bowling is tough, but we fully expected that to be the case. I felt I bowled OK, I just wish that the spells I bowled had been more like the last one in Mohali. I felt a few times out of rhythm and not bowling to the plans I wanted to.”
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