Former England player Michael Vaughan has expressed his excitement about England all-rounder Ben Stokes’ return to the squad for the Ashes series. Vaughan said that Australia should be concerned, as he can turn the table single-handedly.
However, Ben Stokes has announced his return recently, claiming he is looking forward to joining the team in Australia and he is ready for the Ashes as well. Notably, he took a mental-health break in August, said that he is prepared to play his best cricket this winter as well.
Writing in his column for The Telegraph, Michael Vaughan wrote, “Crucially, he is also a player that Australia fear. The scars he inflicted on them at Headingley two years ago will not have fully healed, and the sight of him walking out at Brisbane – or wherever he manages to play his first Test – will send a few shivers up local spines.”
🏏 🏏 pic.twitter.com/udZ2rNzx6d
— Ben Stokes (@benstokes38) October 25, 2021
“Stokes also has unfinished business with the Aussies. Winning in Australia will be on the cricketing bucket list, and having missed the last series Down Under after the Bristol nightclub incident, I can completely understand how this was a series he felt he simply couldn’t miss. He will not have wanted to go down in history as having only played one Test series in Australia, Michael Vaughan further added.
Ben Stokes is one of the best all-rounders of the game and has proved his worth many times a swell. Although Michael Vaughan has backed Australia to win the Ashes, he believes Ben Stokes’ return will do well. And, he has already done in Leeds Test in 2019.
While chasing 359 runs, England was reduced to 286-9. However, alongside Jack Leach, Ben Stokes took England to the finish line as well. Ben Stokes scored 135* in the game.
Australia still favourites to win – Michael Vaughan
The former England skipper still believes the hosts are the favourites to win the blockbuster Ashes series.
“I would still make Australia clear favourites to win the series – remember, we only drew 2-2 on home soil, where we’re strong, when we had him at his best – but it does feel like this has opened up a new world of possibilities,” Michael Vaughan concluded.
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