England are a soft touch in the field without Ben Stokes

Telegraph

2 days ago

When England play without Ben Stokes, they lose an experienced batsman, a key bowler, a superb fielder and their most imaginative tactical mind.
But just as damaging is the loss of their aura and force of personality. Cricket is a non-contact sport (someone tell Akash Deep), but that does not make physicality and presence irrelevant. Without Stokes, England look a soft touch.
India, rightly, have behaved all week at The Oval as though they knew this. They are ending a niggly series with a calculated aggression in everything they are doing. That started by picking a fight with the groundsman (Lee Fortis is nobody's idea of a soft touch, by the way). It sent a message that they would not be taking a backward step.
They have got stuck into England – and fair enough. We will never know, but it is worth wondering if a few pieces of Indian behaviour would have taken place if Stokes was in the team. Would Deep have made physical contact with Ben Duckett? Or would Prasidh Krishna have had a pop at Joe Root, a pre-conceived plan that brought an uncharacteristic reaction? Would Yashasvi Jaiswal have taken such a liberty over his shameless time-wasting before lunch on day three if it was Stokes, not Ollie Pope, captaining England from mid-off? Maybe, but probably not.
It's all getting heated in the middle between Joe Root and Prasidh Krishna 👀 pic.twitter.com/z7cXhOYqxT
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) August 1, 2025
This is not to denigrate Pope, who is just a very different character and cricketer to Stokes. The first and most glaring problem with his captaincy is that he cannot turn to Stokes, England's premier all-rounder. That throws into disarray the side's balance before a ball is even bowled, because in this case it meant going in without a frontline spinner. As well as Stokes, Pope cannot call upon Jofra Archer or Brydon Carse, who have been chewed up and spat out by some flat surfaces. This was made even worse by the loss of Chris Woakes, their most senior seamer, leaving them with a three-man attack.
The hallmark of England's third morning was a general passivity as Deep, the nightwatchman, and Yashasvi Jaiswal, shared a stand of 107. If you surveyed the field with no knowledge of who was captain, it would not have been immediately obvious. Pope actually spent some time off the field, picking the brains of coach Brendon McCullum (with Stokes in the background).
Pope had lacked Stokes's tactical bravado. The only over bowled by spin in the morning session was the first, with Jacob Bethell enabling a change of ends for the quicks. Stokes would surely have backed Bethell and Root to draw some risky shots from India's batsmen in the hope of buying a wicket. Pope kept going back to his flagging quicks.
It was reminiscent of a lax England performance against Sri Lanka at this ground last September, although at least that series had already been won. England took a risk in selection, handing a debut to the raw and unproven Josh Hull, then played with a tactical aimlessness.
When Stokes choses a plan, it is never half-hearted, and the whole team buys in. On the fourth evening at Lord's, Archer complained to Stokes that he did not like his field. Stokes disagreed, and Archer was made to get in line.
At The Oval, Pope gave Jamie Overton an inventive field, with a leg-slip, and two short midwickets. It drew a chance, with Jaiswal narrowly missed by the diving Ben Duckett at leg-slip. In Overton's next over, he bowled a wide half-tracker – ie the worst possible ball for this field – which Ravindra Jadeja cut easily for four. Overton complained that he did not have enough protection, and Pope submitted, giving up on the plan immediately, even though it had created a chance.
Dropped catches were a big problem for England in the third innings. Four fielders shelled six in all, with Harry Brook and Liam Dawson's on the second evening, of Jaiswal, being the most costly. England drop catches under Stokes too, of course, including two expensive ones at Old Trafford last week. But his focus and intensity mean England have rarely been as profligate under Stokes as they have here. England's fielding was always committed, but endured lapses in concentration.
Without Stokes, England simply lack some menace. They have yappy dogs, like Brook and Duckett, but their bark is worse than their bite. In Jamie Smith, they have a wicketkeeper who could end up being an England great, but is a thoroughly atypical gloveman in his quiet manner. Forget Matt Prior or Jonny Bairstow, Smith makes Ben Foakes or Jos Buttler look demonstrative. He clinically and coldly gets on with his job, not saying boo to a goose. That is fine, especially as he is doing that job well, but adds to England's unassertive feel.
Earlier this week, Michael Vaughan wrote in Telegraph Sport that Stokes was as important as any cricketer to their team that he could remember. The Oval Test has underlined his point perfectly.
Six of the worst: England's costly drops
Atkinson to Jaiswal on 20. Fielder: Brook
Jaiswal flashed hard, edging high to Brook's left at second slip. It flew – the ball ran away to the boundary – and was a little awkward, but should have been taken by one of England's best catchers.
Difficulty rating: 6/10
Tongue to Jaiswal on 40. Fielder: Dawson
A sitter. Sub Dawson was grazing at fine leg and Tongue drew the false shot from the cavalier opener amid an excellent spell. The ball went straight to Dawson, but inexplicably through his hands. Dawson blamed losing sight of the ball.
Difficulty rating: 1/10
Big chance for England as Dawson drops Jaiswal 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 pic.twitter.com/EvV8dThrPd
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) August 1, 2025
Overton to Sudharsan on 7. Fielder: Crawley
Like Brook's, this flew very fast to Crawley's left at third slip as the light faded on day two. He could not cling on, meaning every member of England's three-man attack had seen a catch dropped.
Difficulty rating: 5/10
Tongue to Deep on 21. Fielder: Crawley
The ball after Deep survived a very tight umpire's call review, a thick edge flew to the cordon. Diving to his left, Crawley could only palm it clumsily.
Difficulty rating: 5/10
Overton to Nair on 12. Fielder: Brook
More confusion between second and third slip. Another healthy edge that flew quickly to the cordon, Crawley dived in front of Brook, who shelled low to his right. A tougher chance, but far from impossible.
Difficulty rating: 6/10
Overton to Jaiswal on 114. Fielder: Duckett
Duckett had been placed exactly for this shot. Jaiswal flicked hard, and the unsighted Duckett dived low to his left, and actually went too far, with the ball not sticking, and running away for a boundary. The last time England dropped six catches in an innings in a home Test was in 2006 against Pakistan, also at The Oval.
Difficulty rating: 8/10