For quite sometime now, I have been thinking about whether both Root and Stokes are overrated? I have my own reasons to think along those lines. They are good cricketers. There is no doubt about that but are they great cricketers as they are made out to be? This is something that is not clear yet. Atleast based on their performances so far. Let me offer my thoughts in are Root and Stokes overrated?
I will start with Root
Root is someone who has scored runs all over the world. His match-winning and series-winning runs in India and Sri Lanka during the early part of 2021 went a long way to dispel doubts whether he can play spin. He has also scored runs in South Africa, West Indies and New Zealand. However, there is one glaring omission. He hasn’t scored a single hundred in Australia. It is hard to believe but it is true. Every batsman worth his salt must have scored atleast one hundred in Australia.
Root has played 27 innings down under but hasn’t got even a single hundred to show for his efforts. This despite the fact that Australia was far from the all-conquering sides under Taylor, Waugh & Ponting. This is something Root will find very hard to shake from his conscience. By the time the next Ashes comes around, Root will be 4 years older which essentially means that his reflex is likely to slowdown and he will not find that much time to play every delivery. He is unlikely score a hundred at that point.
More than the lack of hundreds, his runs or lack of it, directly contributed towards the ignominy that England faced in Australia over the last couple of tours to that country. I am not saying that if Root had scored lot of runs in the recently concluded Ashes, England would have won a couple of games. Far from it. Atleast, England would not have been this humiliated as they were.
Ashes is the pre-eminent series for the English
Of all the series that the English think about, it is the Ashes that is paramount to them. Other series does not really matter. Every other series is treated as preparation for Ashes. Chris Silverwood, the former England coach laid out a 2-year plan to succeed in Australia. He did not treat games against India, New Zealand and a host of others that seriously. The bottomline for any English cricketer is that success against Australia and that too in Australia, your name will be etched in the annals of the game forever.
Take the case of Flintoff. His only claim to fame was the stellar role he played in the 2005 Ashes. He is considered to be an excellent cricketer just because of that one series. It shows the importance that the English accede to the Ashes. For Root to have failed in that, does not really merit the tag of a great.
The curious case of Shane Warne
Ofcourse, not everyone will succeed in every nation. The greatest spinner of the modern age, Shane Warne, did not succeed in India. His worst record was against India. Be that in Australia or in India and it has not diminished his aura or his greatness one bit. Root’s supporters may point to that. However, let us also remember that Warne may not have had an extremely good average in India but he did end up taking a 5-fer. Added to that, Root’s average has fallen to 47 about 15 months ago which he managed to increase to 50 and now it is back to below 50.
It is an average that is the minimum requirement for a batsman to be rated amongst the great ones of the game. I will still expect Root to finish his career with an average in excess of 50 but I do not think that he will correct the stigma that he has never scored a hundred in Australia.
Now, onto Ben Stokes
Ben Stokes is another English cricketer who has been known as a great player. He does have some special performances like the Headingley come-from-behind win, the World Cup heroics, the belligerent 258 in South Africa, the superhuman skills on the field, the tireless bowling efforts. Stokes’s influence must not be seen from the perspective of statistics. For the record, his batting average is less than 40 and his bowling is more than 30. Not exactly the hallmark of a great. As mentioned above, his contribution goes above and beyond average.
Having said that, whatever I have written about Root, stands true in the case of Stokes too. David Lloyd, the respected English commentator, predicted that Australia will win 4-0 when Stokes was unavailable for the Ashes. As soon as Stokes made himself available, Lloyd reversed his opinion and predicted that England will win 4-0. Ofcourse, in the end, his prediction was spot on one way or the other. The point is, the awe that Stokes inspire. If just by his inclusion, he was coming off a long break from injury and mental health related issues, could turn opinions around, he was expected to play that sort of a role. This was his 3rd tour to Australia and as such, he cannot claim inexperience. Yet, his failure in Australia and West Indies was a major factor, England weren’t competitive at all.
Headingley greatness did not achieve series win
Even during the infamous Headingley heist, it merely helped England to level the series. It is another matter that without Stokes’s brilliance on that day, England would have surrendered the Ashes to Australia. The point is, Australia were not only expected to be uncompetitive but they were expected to be rolled over. Yet, in the end, they had earned a creditable draw. I am not saying that it was because of Root and Stokes but they were a big part in the whole scenario.
Conclusion to are Stokes and Root overrated?
I am not for a moment stating that Root and Stokes are incapable cricketers at the highest level. I will never do that mistake. All I am saying is that they are good cricketers capable of performing at a level against mediocre to good bowling attacks but when it comes to top bowling, they do not inspire that much confidence.