England cannot constantly rely on its captain Ben Stokes to get them out of trouble and other players need to step up.
That’s the call from spinner Moeen Ali after another dominant display with the bat from Stokes in this year’s Ashes.
The all-rounder has done a lot of heavy lifting with his willow for England when the team has been up against the wall.
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Although he failed to properly fire in the first Test at Edgbaston, he came out swinging in the second Test at Lord’s when he made 155 in the second innings.
That came at a time when England was in trouble. Ultimately, they fell just short of the total after the pivotal stumping of Jonny Bairstow and the collapse that followed.
Once again, with England in a precarious position, Stokes stood up and made 80 in the third Test at Headingley. Zak Crawley was the next best batter on 33.
The likes of Joe Root, Ben Duckett, and Crawley have shone at times for England, but reliance on Stokes in under-pressure moments is cause for concern, reckons Ali.
“He’s a brilliant player but I think it’s the situations more than anything,” said Ali, who made 21 runs himself.
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“He loves those and thrives off them, but we can’t rely on him all the time.
“We do have other very good players who need to come to the party as well.
“I know they’re really hungry to score runs and hopefully chase down whatever Australia get.”
Australia heads into day three of the third Test at Headingley with a 142-run lead after England fell just short of the first innings total.
Australia scored 263 before England were rolled for 237. Four Australian wickets fell in the second innings by the end of day two for 116 runs to give England plenty of hope.
Ali is adamant if Stokes is at the crease chasing whatever total Australia sets, then England remains a chance of winning.
“I think Ben’s the one player in the world everybody would be thinking – especially Australia because he’s done it against them a couple of times now – as long as he’s there, white-ball, red-ball, whatever it is, England have always got a brilliant chance of winning,” he said.
“As long as he’s there we’ve got a good chance. But we’ve got guys who’ve got in and got out, we’ve got guys who want to stand up and not just rely on Ben.”
Stokes’ place in the England side is up in the air beyond the third Test as he suffers from a strained glute.
It’s just another injury on the list that includes a bung knee.
“There’s so much he’s dealing with,” said Ali.
“I think when I was batting with him his hip was a little bit sore, and I think there’s a lot more than he’s showing.
“His body has been through a lot. One thing with Ben, he can’t do anything without doing it 100 percent.”
Day three of the third Test gets underway at 8pm AEST.
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