AUSTRALIA will enter this year’s home Ashes series as favourites, however one variable could swing the power in either direction, according to Robert Craddock.<\/p>\n
During England’s drawn fourth Test against India in Manchester, England’s skipper and all-rounder Ben Stokes was rightly awarded player of the match, taking five wickets and piling on 141 runs in the first innings before taking 1\/33 in the second innings prior to the sides settling for a draw.<\/p>\n
Looking forward to The Ashes series later this year, Robert Craddock believes that the 34-year-old’s performance with both bat and ball could be the difference in propelling his English side to any sort of positive result.<\/p>\n
“I have to be honest, I didn’t realise that I needed to see (Stokes) play in this series to realise what a good bowler he is at his best,” Craddock told SEN Mornings.<\/p>\n
“He puts the ball in areas where most bowlers don’t, because he’s about 6’3, 6’4, and he can really hustle with decent bounce, and he gets the ball up. There are times when he and he alone is effective. He’s a fabulous cricketer, isn’t he?<\/p>\n
“If there is one variable in the Ashes that matters – if you could go forward in time to the end of the Ashes and look at the averages, if Stokes fires up as a bowler, England are eyeball deep in this Ashes.<\/p>\n
“They can win it, they really can, if he fires up and takes 20-odd wickets. If he falters, and something happens and he can’t bowl, I just don’t give them a chance.<\/p>\n
“They’ve got no spinner, their quicks lack that viperous edge, but when he’s in there, and he’s bowling, he has got this presence about him \u2013 anything could happen. But if he’s not bowling, I just can’t see them threatening Australia.”<\/p>\n
Despite Craddock’s firm belief that the Australians will have the upper hand, he did concede that England’s depth in the batting order is certain to cause problems.<\/p>\n
“Yes, (their batting is more bankable than ours). Not the least, because they bat down to number 10 if you don’t mind,” he continued.<\/p>\n
“Liam Dawson, who is batting number eight or nine, he’s hit 18 First Class centuries! He may not play in The Ashes, he went wicketless in the second innings, but he may be asked to do a role and keep the brakes on.<\/p>\n
“They bat all the way through, their wicket keeper, Jamie Smith, outstanding batsmen, averaging around 60-odd.<\/p>\n
“I think England have got four of the top 15 batsmen in the world rankings, and they’re really justified too. Joe Root, Ben Duckett, guys like that, they deserve to be there.<\/p>\n
“The rankings are so often derided but not this time. They just keep making big runs.”<\/p>\n