by England could hardly welcome him: the team’s hotel walls are plastered with posters of their recent exploits under Ben Stokes. One of them reads “Let’s win!” – a kind of reverse origami that, if achieved in the captain’s 100th Test, would have ensured India a 2-1 lead with two to play.
Then there is the fact that one of his touring partners of 30, Rehan Ahmed, could have been easily turned away at the Rajkot Airport on Monday afternoon. Returning from the team’s mid-tour break in Abu Dhabi, the leg-spinner unknowingly hit the tarmac with an expired single-entry visa due to leave the country.
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This oversight – one that has been perceived as quite shoddy by the England management due to the problems surrounding Shoaib Bashir’s delayed arrival in India last month – could prove costly for the side which has lost Jack Leach to injury. . Instead, in the Gujarati city where Mahatma Gandhi was educated, the immigration officials chose to take advantage of him.
There is still the small matter of converting Ahmed’s 48-hour temporary document into a new visa but the sounds from both boards were positive two days out from the third Test which starts on Thursday. Linking Rajkot with Leicester, where the 19-year-old is currently playing county cricket, may help his case.
Stokes seemed unfazed by this on the eve of becoming the 16th England player to reach 100 caps. Even that milestone, coming at the ground where Stuart Broad joined the club in 2016, had nothing to do with it, Stokes insisted, apart from showing longevity, it’s just “one more than 99 ” and that there is still more to achieve.
However, it is a reminder of how much he has developed from the firebrand that emerged from the 2013-14 Ashes destruction and, with some setbacks along the way, is now molding teams in his own image. (Also, Rajkot is a reminder that nothing is taken for granted in cricket, this is where Haseeb Hameed made his grand debut seven years ago with predictions that he was destined for 100 caps.)
Not that Stokes hasn’t thought beyond his playing days, showing a desire to stay in cricket as a coach. Given his influence as captain, particularly in giving young players the confidence to step up, this is something English cricket would do well not to slip up like, say, a single entry visa on an inbound tour and out. of India.
Today, this five-match series is fascinating, England have taken the lead in Hyderabad only to be pegged back in Visakhapatnam. Rajkot, hosting his third Test, could be one where Stokes’ mantra of taking the draw off the table – which he reiterated on Tuesday – is tested on a surface that remains traditionally true.
All eyes were on the pitch with a green tinge that may or may not stay. His century came in the identical match here in 2016, a six-run draw with India after Alastair Cook set a conservative target of 311 in a minimum of 49 overs. Virat Kohli, the then India captain, blamed the grass left on him for the surface failing to break up.
“I remember coming off the pitch thinking ‘we’ve got them’ … and then we lost by four nil,” Stokes said, recalling the stalemate with a smile. “In those cases you have to risk something if you want to get something. I don’t get much pleasure out of drawing. I would much rather lose trying to win it.”
As well as the need to win something important, as well as the small matter of negotiating Jasprit Bumrah and finding a way to suppress the Yashasvi Jaiswal, England probably won’t need things push forward and open the back of the game. collective attack but starvation by individuals when settled.
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Of England’s 15 Test wins in India, all but three have depended on at least one century. A performance like the second Test of this series, when Zak Crawley top-scored in both innings with 76 and 73, with England’s remaining 11 batsmen scoring between 20 and 47, is unlikely to cut it.
While Stokes was recalling Mark Wood in place of a spinner, Rohit Sharma was considering as many as four changes to a winning XI. Sarfaraz Khan, who averages 69.85 in first-class cricket, is about to make his debut, as is Dhruv Jurel behind the stumps. KS Bharat’s low form with the bat is to blame for the latter, despite his excellent glovework. Among the bowlers, Mohammed Siraj returns from rest, while Ravindra Jadeja is expected to feature on his home ground with his fingers crossed on his injured side.
It risks making it look like the hosts are on the run when, in reality, even with Kohli ruled out of the series, they still go into the game as favourites. England may have received a warm welcome on their return to the country, and there will be plenty of focus on Stokes, but they are unlikely to be simply overwhelmed.
