‘Toothless without him’: England’s Achilles heel exposed and what it could mean for the Ashes

The fitness of Ben Stokes shapes as an Achilles heel for England that could define both the intriguing series with India and the highly-anticipated Ashes beginning in November in Perth.

If the English champion can stay sound, he could prove the series winner when play resumes against India at Old Trafford later on Sunday and also the man capable of reclaiming the Urn on Australian soil for the first time in 15 years. But it shapes as a big if.

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In a gripping Test in Manchester where Stokes became just the fourth Englishman to score a century and notch a five wicket innings haul in the same match, his nation’s hopes on the final day appear to rest on whether he can bowl after some stubborn Indian resistance.

England looked to be cruising to what would be a series clinching victory when, after Stokes feasted to score 141 as England reached a mammoth 669 to set up a 311-run first innings lead, Chris Woakes removed Yashavi Jaiswal and Sai Sudharsan in the first over.

But KL Rahul, who is unbeaten on 87, and Indian skipper Shubman Gill, who is on 78, were able to bat out the final two sessions to reduce the deficit to 137 with a day to play. The intrigue surrounds Stokes, who limped from the field after batting and failed to bowl.

Without the all-rounder in the attack, former English spinner Phil Tufnell declared the hosts looked “toothless” on Saturday.

“When there is resistance on a flat pitch, Ben Stokes is key. He breaks partnerships. He makes things happen with changes of pace and bumpers,” Tufnell told the BBC after stumps.

“He is just a fantastic bowler to make something happen when the wicket is flat. He is missed. And England, today, looked a little bit toothless without him.”

Former England captain Michael Vaughan, who is a Fox Cricket analyst through the Australian summer, noted Stokes was gripping his hamstring when he chased a ball to deep extra cover in the infancy of the Indian second innings.

Vaughan has stressed to Fox Cricket regularly over the past 12 months his belief that England have the capacity to test an Australian top order that has struggled for runs given its battery of fast bowlers. But he noted on Saturday their best chance rests on Stokes being fit.

“We’ll wait and see,” he said on the England’s national broadcaster.

“Ben is a superhuman at times. He was probably hoping today that they would get the wickets and he wasn’t going to be required. It doesn’t half tell you how important he is to the attack.”

Former Indian coach Ravi Shastri, another Fox Cricket regular, believes that Stokes will bowl on the final day of the Test in a bid to clinch victory for England. The hosts lead 2-1, with the final Test of the five match series beginning at The Oval on Thursday.

India faced 63 overs on Saturday, meaning England will be able to access a new ball in the second hour of play on Sunday, though rain is predicted for the morning session.

“I think Stokes was preserving himself. There will be one burst (on Sunday) when needed, when he thinks now is the time for five or six overs,” Shastri said on Sky Sports.

Stokes, who tweaked his action during an extended stint on the sidelines while recuperating from a knee operation, has bowled 129 overs for the series and taken more wickets than Indian superstar Jasprit Bumrah.

That seems incredible for anyone who witnessed Bumrah, who conceded 100 runs in an innings for the first time in his career on Saturday, bowling in Australia last summer. But is an indication of how flat the deck at Old Trafford is as well.

England’s assistant coach Marcus Trescothick said the hosts are hopeful Stokes will be available to use the Dukes ball on the final day after rest and physiotherapy.

Stokes, who has endured hamstring issues as well as knee problems in recent years, said earlier in the season the extended stint of rehabilitation had worked wonders.

He credited his return to form with the ball in hand — he is the fourth cricketer to score 10 centuries and take five five-wicket hauls alongside Ian Botham, Garfield Sobers and Jacques Kallis — to his fitness and to lengthening his run-up to allow better rhythm.

“To be able to do some really, really good technical work and getting myself back to where I feel like I was before I had my injuries is really good,” Stokes said, as reported by The Telegraph.

“There was naturally quite a few changes that crept into my action in how I was landing, how I was approaching the crease, because of my knee or because of my hamstring.

“It was nice to be able to sort of get rid of those and just really focus on the technical side of bowling, because there’s a lot that goes into it.”

While the fascination surrounding the fitness of Stokes, who has taken 16 wickets to date in the series, has overshadowed his effort with the bat earlier in the day, that should not be forgotten.

Former English captain Michael Atherton said it furthered his belief that Stokes is one of the greatest all-rounders in English history.

Stokes passed 7,000 Test match runs during the innings and joined Botham, Gus Atkinson and Tony Greig as English cricketers to notch a century and take five wickets in an innings in the same Test.

“(A) huge cheer for Ben Stokes. (It was) all-round excellence from one of England’s greatest all-rounders,” he said on Sky Sports.

“Five wickets in this match and now a Test hundred too, his first for a couple of years, since the 2023 Ashes against Australia at Lord’s — so it’s been quite a wait, and you can see what it means to him.

“He’s the leading wicket-taker in the series, and won Player of the Match in the last Test at Lord’s. You just feel that his all-round game is coming together now.”