England Must Work Out What to Do with Ben Stokes

How do you solve a problem like Ben Stokes?

This is a question England’s management team must fathom out the answer to and quickly. While Stokes is not a problem himself—provided he’s no longer punching lockers—there is a pressing need to find him a permanent role in the one-day team.

So far in his international career the Durham all-rounder has flattered to deceive.

There have been moments of excellence with both bat and ball in one-day cricket; the left-hander hit 70 against Australia in Perth in December of 2013 to help England to their only victory of that series, while he also has a five-wicket haul to his name against the same opponents.

However, those two performances have been outliers so far in the stop-start England career of Stokes, a rare gem of a player who can not only bowl at pace but is also worthy of a place in the top six.

The worry is that a player who has now appeared in 23 one-day games seems to be regressing, rather than progressing

England should not give up just yet on Stokes, who is still yet to reach his prime years and emphatically showed what he is capable of achieving at the very highest level during the third Ashes Test last winter.

His maiden Test century against Australia in Perth is why England continue to pick him. On a WACA pitch with cracks so wide it resembled crazy paving, Stokes showed not only great courage against Mitchell Johnson but also a huge amount of skill to make 120.

Almost a year on and Stokes has not managed the same number of runs in his seven Test innings since that hundred.

Having burst onto the scene in stunning fashion, the 23-year-old has now become a bit-part player in all formats. Much like the lyrics of the "Hokey Cokey" suggest, he’s in out, in out.

Steve Harmison is in no doubt, though, about his former county colleague's abilities, telling Paul Newman of the Daily Mail that Stokes has to be used in the correct way to get the very best out of him.

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Ben can be as good as he wants to be. But he needs to be used in the right manner and England must not stop him being the explosive, charismatic character he wants to be. Personally, I would take a bit of pressure off his bowling and put more onus on his batting.

"

During the first three games of the current ODI series with Sri Lanka, Stokes has played twice with minimal impact on proceedings. He has sent down a sum total of six overs at a cost of 64 runs. He made 16 in the first match in Colombo, then wasn't required with the bat as England won in Hambantota on Wednesday.

England’s management team have perhaps not helped Stokes by shuffling him up and down the order—having started out in one-day cricket at three, where he made his current top score in the 50-over game, he’s since batted in five different positions on a gradual slide down to his latest role, at eight.

Similarly with his bowling, Stokes has become something of a peripheral figure. He seems to be an option skipper Alastair Cook turns to in hope more than expectation.

He has bowled his full complement of 10 overs just five times in ODI cricket, and in his 113 overs in total, he has managed just two maidens while going at more than a run-a-ball rate.

The figures don’t make for great reading, and England are not short of all-round options—Chris Jordan and Chris Woakes are both in the squad in Sri Lanka, while Stuart Broad, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo, is confident of being fully fit following knee surgery in time for the World Cup next year.

With such competition for places, Stokes cannot afford to remain in the shadows for too much longer.

He has already had to sit out a World Cup due to being unable to control his temper, and it would be a shame to miss another for being unable to harness his obvious talent, as he reminded both the selectors and England cricket fans when striking 164 off 113 balls for Durham against Nottinghamshire back in September.

He has already had to sit out one World Cup due to his temper, it would be a shame to miss another for failing to harness his obvious talents.