R Ashwin has made a scathing attack on the batting credentials of England captain Ben Stokes. Ashwin explained Stokes’ dismissal in the second innings of the Edgbaston Test and criticised England’s arrogance for trying to chase 608 runs instead of going for a draw.“Ben Stokes is a fabulous player. I take my hat off to him. But we need to remember one thing. Barring that Headingley heroics in the Ashes, what has he achieved as a batter?” Ashwin said on his Hindi YouTube channel “Ash Ki Baat.”“The readiness to play a Test match in the way a Test match needs to be played—that is the problem from the leadership standpoint. You are telling every batter to go and play an attacking brand of cricket, so you need to play like that only,” he said.Ashwin pointed out a technical deficiency in Stokes’ batting.“Go and check Ben Stokes’ dismissal against Washington Sundar. The ball drifted beautifully, it came on nicely, and I accept all these things—but just notice one thing: Washy’s release is from wide of the crease. He has released it from the corner of the crease. Look at Ben Stokes’ head position—it is coinciding with Rishabh Pant’s head—and he played the line where Washington Sundar released the ball. Look at his foot. His leg is completely straight like an arrow. There is no bend in his knees. The leg stays straight only if you are looking to tonk the ball. In T20 cricket and white-ball cricket, you pick the first line delivered from the hand, as the ball doesn’t get so much drift and you can smash it—but not in Test cricket,” he explained.
Ashwin then slammed England’s batting performance on Day 5.“You are batting at the stroke of lunch, final day of the Test match. ‘We will go for 608 runs’—this is nothing but absolute hara-kiri and mockery. You can’t go for 608 runs, boss.“You have got the rain, and the only thing you needed was to draw the match. But you want to stay true to your style of play. That particular instinct to hit the ball is costing you these small dismissals.”
