‘Trust his Experience’ – Joe Root on Ben Stokes' impact in Ashes 2021-22

Cricket fans have their eyes on the calendar as the high-voltage Ashes 2021-22 is set to get underway on December 8. With Ashes being hailed as cricket’s most prominent rivalry, both England and Australia would be raring to get the glory. As the Aussies hold the home advantage, many are backing them to beat England and retain the Ashes urn, which has been with them since 2018.

Hence, the Three Lions must unleash their best show to leave the Aussies disappointed in front of their home crowd. Meanwhile, Ben Stokes would be critical to England’s performance in the crucial series. However, the all-rounder is coming off an injury and it would be interesting to see how he performs. For the unversed, Stokes had taken an indefinite break from all forms of cricket in July to prioritise his mental wellness and rest a fractured finger.

With Stokes being arguably the best all-rounder going around, he’ll be under the spotlight in the series. Speaking of the same, England skipper Joe Root said that the visitors will bank on his experience when they take on the Aussies in the opening clash at the Gabba in Brisbane.

There’ll be an element of managing expectations from Ben Stokes: Joe Root

“Yes, there’ll be an element of managing expectations and you’ve got to trust his experience and our whole bowling group collectively that we can work together to take those wickets. I’m sure Ben will have a big say in that. It’s something we’ll definitely be trying to get right throughout the whole series,” said Captain Root to media.

Meanwhile, Stokes was in sublime form during the previous edition of Ashes, which was played on England soil in 2019. Root also asserted that the all-rounder is raring to replicate his heroics down under. “We always know that when he gets into that game he’ll want to put his mark on it,” added Root. Meanwhile, England have named their 12-man squad for the first Test, which doesn’t feature injured pacer James Anderson.

England squad for 1st Ashes Test: 

Joe Root (c), Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Haseeb Hameed, Jack Leach, Dawid Malan, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.