World Cup 2023: Ben Stokes not bowling has disturbed England’s balance, says Nasser Hussain

Former England captain Nasser Hussain feels Ben Stokes not bowling has disturbed the team’s balance in the ongoing World Cup. Stokes had to miss the early matches due to a hip niggle and he recently made his return to the team.

The left-hander top-scored with 43 runs against Sri Lanka at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru on Thursday. But Stokes hasn’t been bowling in the ongoing showpiece due to his knee injury concern.

Stokes was dismissed by Lahiru Kumara on a short-pitched ball and he could not convert his start into a substantial score. It is well known that Stokes adds a lot of balance as an all-rounder but he is not expected to bowl throughout the World Cup.

“It has thrown a spanner in the works. You’re damned if you do, and you’re damned if you don’t. You can’t tap Ben Stokes on his shoulder and say ‘You’re not playing’. You just saw how much they needed him today in that sort of situation,” Hussain was quoted as saying on Sky Sports.

In fact, all of England’s all-rounders are out of form and Hussain reckons the balance of the team goes up for a toss when Stokes doesn’t contribute with the ball.

“He’s always done it for England. But the entire balance of our side is all over the place when he plays. They had to leave Brook out. If they want to play all their all-rounders, who are all out of form, they look like they are neither contributing with bat nor ball,” he stated.

Hussain added that Hardik Pandya also plays a key role for India but in his absence, the other players are in form as they are getting big scores whereas it hasn’t been the same for England.

“You look at Hardik Pandya. England’s next game is going to be against India. Pandya won’t play, they’ll play all their batters and bowlers with someone like Shami coming in at No.8. The difference between India and England are that India’s top seven are in form and getting big hundreds. Their bowlers are also getting five wickets. England haven’t done any,” Stokes added.

England will next take on India at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow on Sunday.