England Cricket Team Struggles Without Ben Stokes, Admits Josh Tongue

The Absence of Ben Stokes

Josh Tongue admitted England have missed the influence of Ben Stokes after a day in which they crumbled to the brink of defeat in the second Test against New Zealand at the Oval. While they were doing so the team’s full-time captain, forced out of international duty for disciplinary reasons, was 250 miles north at Chester-le-Street, scoring a swashbuckling 95 for Durham in the County Championship.

England's Struggles

England ended the fourth day on 182 for five, a distant 281 from victory, after the tourists scored 362 in their second innings. The home side have worked this week under the interim captaincy of Joe Root, on whose back their slender hopes once again lie, after he became the second player in Test history to pass 14,000 career runs on his way to an unbeaten 75,

Tongue on Stokes and Root

“Yeah, we’ve missed him,” Tongue said of Stokes. “He’s an unbelievable player. Obviously I made my debut when he was captain, so I’ve got huge respect for Stokesy and it’s always nice seeing him get some runs as well. But obviously we’ve got a lot of leaders in our team. Rooty has stepped up as captain, he’s obviously an unbelievable player and an unbelievable leader.”

The Impact of Stokes' Absence

While admitting England have been weakened by Stokes’s absence, Tongue had nothing but praise for his stand-in, even if Root’s second stint in charge seems unlikely to be a successful one. It now appears likely to end after this Test, with the England & Wales Cricket Board’s investigation into the curfew breach that forced Stokes and Gus Atkinson out of it apparently close to a conclusion that will allow their return for the third game at Trent Bridge.

New Zealand's Chances

Though the Kiwis are on the verge of winning what would be only their third Test in this country in 18 attempts since the start of 2000, they will not allow any triumphalism to set in while England’s stand-in captain remains at the crease. “When you’ve got someone like Joe Root out there, his class and everything that comes with him, he’s going to be the big wicket,” Nicholls said. “It’s going to take a lot of effort. It’s Test cricket. It’s been four hard days and we’re expecting the same again tomorrow.”