England star Ben Stokes faced just 56 balls across the five T20 internationals against India after batting at No 5 or No 6; Rob Key says England could look to push all-rounder up the order like Rajasthan Royals have done in the Indian Premier League
Sunday 21 March 2021 14:04, UK
Ben Stokes is so often a talismanic figure for England - but how can they get more out of him in T20 international cricket?
The all-rounder is still to hit a fifty in 34 T20Is and, due to his spot in the middle order, has not been required to bat in three of his last six matches and faced only 56 balls in the 3-2 series defeat to India.
After Stokes scored 14 from 12 balls after coming in at No 6 during England's defeat to India in the fifth T20I, Sky Sports' Nasser Hussain and Rob Key pondered whether he should be moved higher up the order.
We have people who can bat anywhere but we see Ben as a great finisher as well. He is very good at looking at a scoreboard, breaking it down and taking into account what needs to be done at any given point. He reads the game very well and you need that down the order to get you over the line in tight situations. He does that fantastically.
Hussain said: "The one grey area is Stokes. You can't give him an excuse as, at the moment, he has not transferred any of his other form into international T20 cricket.
"Dawid Malan is the No 1-ranked T20 batsman in the world - that's a fact - so should Ben, who has not yet done it in T20 international cricket, take over from someone who has?
"That's a big call to make but we know with [England captain Eoin] Morgan that if he has to make those calls, he will, even on the eve of the tournament.
"Before the 50-over World Cup, it was 'thank you very much, David Willey, you're done'. After the World Cup final, it was 'Liam Plunkett, you are still bowling well but thank you, you're done'.
"Morgan will be ruthless so it's can they find a different role for Stokes or do they stick with what they have got?
"All I would say is that if you get to a World Cup semi-final or final and you need 20 off two overs, you wouldn't want a different character out there than Stokes..
"Someone who has bottle and fight to get you over the line. He wins you big games."
The role Ben has played for us in the middle order when he has had opportunities to play, he's done a really exceptional job. It's actually an extremely difficult role to fulfil and it's a role that he's taken on board and embraced. His contributions when he's had the opportunity have been really good.
Stokes has scored two IPL hundreds, one opening the batting for Rajasthan Royals in 2020 and another having come to the crease inside two overs for Rising Pune Supergiant in 2017.
Key added: "It is very hard for Stokes. The people that bat six are Kieron Pollard, Andre Russell, people who can slog yorkers out of the ground.
"I'm not sure Stokes, as good as he is, does exactly that but he can bat early on when the field is up in the powerplay and then go and destroy sides.
"He doesn't strike me as someone absolutely happy to come in with five overs to go at No 6.
"When he has done well in the IPL, it's been up the order. Even when he got a hundred at No 5, he came in in the first two overs."
Stokes will soon be back in IPL action for Rajasthan with the 2021 season of the tournament starting on April 9, live and exclusive on Sky Sports.
Malan, Jos Buttler, Jonny Bairstow and Eoin Morgan are among the other England batsmen playing in the competition, which Morgan says will be vital as his men prepare for the T20 World Cup in India in October.
"Our middle order probably hasn't fired as well as we'd have liked, we weren't as sharp as we normally are," said Morgan, after England were limited to 188-8 in reply to India's 224-2 after collapsing from 130-1 at Narendra Modi Stadium.
"Taking advantage of the IPL is going to be huge because as a team and as individuals we don't want to stand still, we want to continually move forward. The experiences over the next couple of months are probably the most valuable.
"My message is always to go to these tournaments and try to be the best player of the tournament because if that's always your goal, if you fall short normally you will continually be improving."
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