THE HEAT IS ON FOR STOKES

Bowlers are nowhere near oven-ready yet for Ashes

- By Mike Walters

AS the countdown clock ticked down to five months for England to find an Ashes-winning permutation, the Yorkshire jury’s mood was eeh bah glum.

In just 153 days from now, Ben Stokes will need to know the combination of the cryptex lock that will end 15 Tests of one-way traffic in Australia, where they have lost the past three series 5-0, 4-0 and 4-0.

As toiling England were put to the sword by India’s twin centurions Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal, they did not look ready to take 20 wickets at a time Down Under.

India’s 359-3 on the opening day of the first Rothesay Test did not just punish Stokes’ baffling choice to bowl first in oppressive heat closer to Hyderabad than Headingley. It was a sobering reminder that the bank of fast bowlers England are cultivating to hit their Commonwealth cousins with pace, pace and more pace this winter is nowhere near oven-ready yet.