Joe Root is planning for England to conquer Australia this winter without Ben Stokes in the side and has pledged to ensure the incident that has left the all‑rounder grounded at home, while his team-mates fly out to defend the Ashes, will never happen again.
Speaking at Lord’s before the squad’s departure for Perth on Saturday – and for the first time since his vice-captain was arrested in Bristol on 25 September – Root expressed his frustration at losing such a key player but looked to remain upbeat about their chances of returning with the urn.
“We’ve got to plan as if he’s not going to be there for the whole series,” said Root, as he looked to deal with an unprecedented situation that comes less than a year into his England Test captaincy. “Stokes is a fine player but I see a squad that’s more than capable of going over there and doing something really special.”
Stokes, who is recovering from a broken hand, remains suspended on full pay as he waits to discover if he will be charged by Avon and Somerset police. The 26‑year‑old was arrested on suspicion of causing actual bodily harm but released under investigation. Two key witnesses to the incident have now come forward following a police appeal. An update on his case is expected next week, something that could trigger England’s disciplinary procedure.
The fallout from the incident has given rise to talk of a drinking culture within the England setup. Naturally Root rejected the suggestion. The Yorkshireman did, however, concede that along with discussing a possible new deputy, he and the management will draw up fresh guidelines for off-field behaviour, even if they remain wary of suffocating the players.
Root said: “I think it’s important that we as a side, [the team director] Andrew Strauss and the ECB, are happy with what we come up with and make sure this is a one-off. We will make sure situations like this don’t happen again. We are grown men, we know how to behave and we’ll make sure we conduct ourselves well this tour.”
In an interview with the Telegraph this weekend, Root has defended Stokes’s character overall, admitting the video of the incident published by the Sun two days after it took place was “not nice to see” before stating his team-mate “is a brilliant dad and loves spending time with his kids”. He added: “It has been a disappointing and horrible situation, but I wouldn’t say that is a fair representation of Ben as a person.”
Asked at Lord’s if it had affected their friendship, given their rise through the England age-groups together before taking over the leadership of the Test side together from Alastair Cook last February, Root bristled: “That’s between me and Ben, to be brutally honest. And that should stay between us. It is disappointing that he’s not going to be on the trip but you have to move on and move forward as a team. He’s obviously very disappointed but I can’t speak for him.”
Moving forward will involve other members of the squad stepping up to plug the huge gap left by their talismanic all‑rounder. Root, who cited the experience of Cook, Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad as reasons to be optimistic, is himself looking to “lead from the front” with a weight of runs and tick off a gap in his cricketing CV.
In the 5-0 series defeat four years ago the right-hander made one half-century in eight innings before being dropped for the final Test in Sydney, but has averaged 59.8 from 45 matches since with 11 centuries to sit among the world’s elite. Australia may be fifth in the rankings, to England’s third, but home advantage sees Steve Smith’s side begin as favourites.
Root said: “I’m obviously a very different player now to what I was last time we were there and that excites me. I’m not a massive one for setting figures or goals for any series or tour. My sole goal for this winter is to come home with the urn, simple as that – to be part of a really successful side that wins in Australia.”
