Ben Stokes doesn’t appear to be in the kind of form that could save the Ashes for England, given the star all-rounder’s latest lean performance for Canterbury province in New Zealand’s domestic limited-overs cricket championship.
Stokes, who is under police investigation over an alleged assault outside a Bristol nightclub in September, scored 34 and took a catch but failed to take a wicket in seven overs as Canterbury lost by seven wickets to Auckland at Eden Park on Wednesday.
Along with the other Canterbury bowlers, Stokes’ figures were bruised by New Zealand batsman Colin Munro, who made an unbeaten 174 from 118 balls.
Stokes’ performance was at least an improvement on his Canterbury debut last weekend when he scored only two runs in a six-ball innings and went wicketless in nine overs in a loss to Otago.
The New Zealand-born allrounder has been suspended from playing for England while police investigate his role in the September 25 incident in Bristol which followed a limited-overs international against the West Indies. Avon and Somerset police have completed their investigation and are seeking advice from prosecutors on whether or not charges should be laid.
While the 27-year-old Stokes has said he is in New Zealand to visit his parents, who live in Christchurch, he could quickly rejoin the England team if he is not charged or if there is any delay in a charging decision.
The England Cricket Board has said Stokes will remain suspended pending the police investigation.
England has lost the first two tests to Australia in Brisbane and Adelaide and is likely to be more eager to recall Stokes if circumstances make it possible. The five-match Ashes series continues in Perth from Dec. 14.
England star Stokes struggles again in cricket comeback
England star Stokes struggles again in cricket comeback
Alonso fears more pain in China with struggling Aston Martin
- Fernando Alonso said Thursday he expects another difficult weekend wrestling with his new Aston Martin at the Chinese Grand Prix after failing to finish the season-opener in Australia
SHANGHAI: Fernando Alonso said Thursday he expects another difficult weekend wrestling with his new Aston Martin at the Chinese Grand Prix after failing to finish the season-opener in Australia.
Silverstone-based Aston Martin endured a horror start after serious issues with their Honda power unit and a lack of spare parts.
Two-time world champion Alonso and teammate Lance Stroll had to endure extreme vibration in the chassis caused by the power unit, which was feared could cause the drivers permanent nerve damage.
“The situation unfortunately didn’t change within four or five days since Melbourne, so it will be a difficult weekend,” Alonso told reporters at the Shanghai International Circuit.
“We’ll limit the laps in one or two sessions as we are short on parts. We need laps, to find the window on the chassis side.
“I’ll be happy if we leave China with a more or less normal practice, more or less normal qualifying.”
The Spaniard could not put a timeframe on when improvements might come.
“What can I do within the team? Work harder, help Honda as much as I can,” said Alonso.
“We can allocate resources to help Honda with the power unit. We are one team, it is a bumpy start that I hope won’t last too long.
“We are pushing, we have very talented people in the team, so I hope within a couple of grands prix, we can have a normal weekend.
“To be competitive will take more time. Once we fix the reliability, we will be behind on power and things.”
The 44-year-old veteran has been in Formula One for more than two decades and has driven vastly different iterations of cars from the old V10 petrol engines through to the current complex hybrid configuration.
Despite the issues he said was embracing the challenge of the new cars enthusiastically in what could be his final season on the grid.
His Aston Martin contract expires at the end of 2026.
“Do we enjoy driving these cars? Yes, because we love racing,” Alonso said.
“I do four or five 24-hour races because I love racing and I love driving. So if you jump into an F1 car, you enjoy going fast.
“But it is a challenge, a different challenge.
“I was super lucky to race in (the last) era and I feel lucky to race in both.”
