Concerns are growing around Ben Stokes’ ability to bowl for the remainder of the third Test after England’s captain did not send himself on during Australia’s dominant day-three push towards an Ashes-clinching victory in Adelaide.
Stokes’ absence from the attack was striking. Having delivered 19 overs in Australia’s first innings — all on day one — he would ordinarily have been expected to play a role, particularly given his effectiveness this series. He boasts England’s best bowling average of 25.87, with eight wickets to his name, including a five-wicket haul in his opening spell in Perth, and his economy rate of 4.05 is second only to Jofra Archer. Yet across Australia’s 66 overs on day three, Stokes did not bowl once.
England began Australia’s second innings trailing by 85 and briefly found hope through breakthroughs at 53 for 2 and later 149 for 4. Any momentum was quickly extinguished by Travis Head’s second century of the series, backed by another assured half-century from Alex Carey, as Australia surged to a daunting overnight lead of 356.
Stokes remained heavily involved as captain, marshalling the field for all but three overs of the innings — between the 48th and 51st — after bumping the back of his head while fielding. Earlier in the day, he had resumed England’s first innings on 45 and battled his way to 83, becoming the penultimate batter dismissed in a total of 286.
That innings was a punishing one. Stokes spent more than five hours at the crease, facing 198 balls, with 151 of them coming on day two in oppressive heat that climbed above 41 degrees Celsius. By the close of that day, he was visibly struggling, frequently stretching out cramping muscles and dealing with multiple physical issues. He was even unable to properly take on carbohydrate drinks to replenish his energy, having been unwell.
By stumps on Friday, Stokes looked sore and drained as he made his way off the Adelaide Oval, the toll of three relentless days clearly etched on him. England assistant coach Jeetan Patel admitted uncertainty over why Stokes did not bowl, suggesting exhaustion rather than injury may have been the deciding factor.
“From what I understand, he’s pretty fit to bowl,” Patel said. “I think he’s just pretty knackered and he’s taken a lot out of himself to get through this point in the game.
“The disappointment of the way he got out this morning — not the way, it was a good delivery — but all the work he’d done to get us into a position where we could push that partnership further took a lot out of him. Then you get an early wicket, the energy lifts, and suddenly it’s not quite where you think it’s going.
“From what we heard, he was fit. He didn’t bowl, but that’s probably a discussion for him. My sense is he was just exhausted. We all know he doesn’t operate at 80%. Maybe he felt he was a risk, so he didn’t bowl.”
Despite the doubts surrounding Stokes’ capacity to contribute further with the ball, Patel insisted England must still aim for something extraordinary. With Australia poised to set a target potentially deep into world-record territory, England find themselves cornered after absorbing sustained punishment across nine days of cricket, six of which were enough for Australia to seize a commanding 2–0 series lead.
“I’m very optimistic about where we could take this,” Patel said. “I still believe there’s an opportunity for us. It won’t be easy — we’re going to need something magical. And I think it’s about time we produced something magical.
“Three games in, we’ve thrown some punches but taken a lot. Now that we’re backed into a corner, it’s time to start throwing some haymakers back.
“When I walk into that changing room, that’s the mindset I’ll be pushing. This game tests you down here, asks you hard questions. We’ve just got to find a way to stand up and answer them.”
