Ashes 2017-18: Ben Stokes must be more gutted than his England team-mates, says Michael Vaughan

Ben Stokes didn't travel to Australia because of his involvement in the in-famous street brawl in Cardiff.

Ben Stokes recently played in the New Zealand domestic cricket for Canterbury | Getty

England’s defeat at Perth on December 19 (Monday) meant that the visitors conceded yet another Ashes series Down Under. As expected the English fans were heart-broken with their team’s abysmal showing in the first three matches. Besides, the former England cricketers and experts were no different.

Expressing his utter disappointment seeing the way things have panned out for Joe Root and company in Australia, Ex-England skipper Michael Vaughan has said that the absence of Ben Stokes was a major blow for the visitors. Vaughan hoped that such miserable performance must be ‘hurting’ Stokes more than his England team-mates in the dressing room.

“I would hope Ben is watching and is hurting more than the team in the dressing room. As soon as Stokes did what he did, it was very clear to me that he would struggle to be in Australia,” Vaughan quoted while talking to BT Sport.

“I said it straight away, I didn’t think England would have any chance of competing out here without Stokes. I hope he’s hurting more than the players who have been here,” he added.

The 43-year-old also highlighted the below-par performance of Moeen Ali, who has been found out by the Australian pacers throughout the 6 innings thus far. Moreover, Ali’s showing with the ball hasn’t been any inspiring either.

“I don’t see how Moeen Ali plays in Melbourne. You’re not going to put him in your top six, he’s not bowling with any kind of motion. Mason Crane is in the squad,” Vaughan commented.

“If Moeen is going to be the batsman that bowls a little bit, he’s got to bat a bit better than we’ve seen… so for me, Moeen can’t play in Melbourne,” concluded the 2005 Ashes winning skipper.

The fourth Ashes Test will be played in the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground from December 26 while Sydney Cricket Ground will host the fifth and final Test on January 4.

 
 

By Salman Anjum - 19 Dec, 2017

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