No-one can stop Stokes overdoing it but himself – Agnew

As Ben Stokes ran into the final day of his fourth Test against India, I had everything crossed my mind.

He occasionally appeared to be Laurel and Hardy’s car, with parts of his body appearing to be falling off due to his irregularities.

There is always a lot of discussion about Stokes having to tell his coach to stay away from it when they are dressing room, whether it is his friend and teammate Joe Root, or his vice-captain Ollie Pope.

That is now being addressed. No one will be able to direct Stokes in this regard, it is obvious.

Stokes is criticized for how significant he is to his team. Because he was a top bowler on either side of the pitch at Old Trafford, he feels the responsibility.

But he needs to take care of himself and consider the bigger picture.

Stokes’ offer of so much more threat than the rest of his bowling attack, especially with the old ball, is both greatly appreciated and concerning.

In this series, a ball that is 40 overs old has given Stokes six wickets. In the same time frame, Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, and Josh Tongue have all taken two wickets.

His bowling is incredibly top-notch, as evidenced by this.

Archer’s return to the test series has been largely positive, but he discovered what it means to be truly fit for a test on Sunday.

In his final performance, he did not appear to be as dangerous because his feet were sore, his speed was slowed to 83 mph, and he did not appear as intimidating.

He is also confirmed as not the express bowler that some people anticipate him to be.

He is not like Mark Wood, but he can play that role for a while while he really heats things up, as he did occasionally in his comeback at Lord’s.

Wood can bowl at 95 mph whenever you throw him a ball, but Archer’s rhythm isn’t always there.

He is back, and it is wonderful that he is back. This is another step in his ashes career.

After Archer made his Lord’s debut, Liam Dawson, an injured Shoaib Bashir, replaced him with Liam Dawson, who had spent eight years away.

I’m still unsure about Dawson’s role as England’s spinner.

He bowled sparingly in the second innings, which was 47 overs for only 95 runs, but his absence from the final two days as England pressed for victory summed it up. He didn’t appear dangerous.

The action in Dawson is fascinating.

In contrast to the more common off-spinner’s method of turning the ball sideways and using your hips to pivot and get more action, he is very chest-on.

I’m not suggesting that Dawson change his technique because he is 35 and has a successful career, but that is one of the reasons he is never going to be a great ball player.

Of course, his performance was mostly accurate, which may be what England needed when playing bowling in Australia.

You don’t want your spinner to leak out in the subzero heat.

To allow the quick bowlers to rotate and take a break, you must hold up an end. When England won the series under Andrew Strauss in 2010, Graeme Swann was of such high value.

Because Woakes, Carse, and Archer appear worn out, England will need to make changes for the fifth Test.

Given that all four tests ran for five days, which is unusual for this nation in recent years, that is not surprising.

It will be about whether Stokes is fit enough to play a full part, fit enough to only play as a batter, or not at all, as Josh Tongue and Gus Atkinson appear certainties to make a return to bolster the bowling attack.

England looked to add a fourth seamer when Stokes was unable to bowl, as they did in the 2023 Ashes when Moeen Ali was called up as a spin-bowling all-rounder.

England will be desperate for Stokes to play, but otherwise, they will need to add Dawson and three pace bowlers. For a game they cannot afford to lose, that keeps the batting strong.

Stokes will be desperate for more grass to support his bowlers before recovering from surgery. He will also be looking for anything to add pace and bounce.

England requires him. Without Stokes, they would be at their lowest point.