Ian Bell feels Chris Woakes could step in Stokes' shoes in the Ashes 2017-18

Former English cricketer, Ian Bell, feels that young pacer Chris Woakes could feel the void left by all-rounder Ben Stokes in the English team. The English team are gearing up for the mighty challenge of the Aussies in the Ashes 2017-18. They lost the services of their star all-rounder Ben Stokes, who was ruled out of the squad due to disciplinary issues.

Many believe that he has left a big void in the team. However, Ian Bell has backed Chris Woakes to be the one who could stand out for the team in Stokes’ absence. As per the recent quotes in The National, Bell remarked that Woakes is not as fancy and animated as Stokes but is very capable with both bat and the ball.

“From the outside, maybe he isn’t as flamboyant or as eye-catching a cricketer as Stokes, but he is very consistent in his game. When he is at the top of his game, he has good pace and gets it to shape out. I’m sure he will be excited, and there is no doubt he will have to step up into that role,” quoted Ian Bell.

On playing in Australia

Speaking about the challenges of playing in Australia, the Bell admitted that playing down under is quite a tough ask. He noted that the Aussies are very good at home. However, he added that they are certainly beatable. Earlier, England’s bowling coach Shane Bond had also cited that Australia can be beaten at home.

“I have been there three times and it is a tough place to go. They are very, very good at home, but although they have got four or five world-class players, they are not the best Australian side they have had in the past 10 or 15 years. I think they are beatable. But to win out there, as we did in 2011, the batting unit has to function and play at the top of their games,” conceded the former cricketer.

On the 2011 tour

Reflecting back at the tour of 2011, when the England team had stunned the Aussies at their own backyard, Ian Bell conceded that the mindset of the team was great back then. He recalled that the players had the hunger to win and they did just that. For the current team to replicate the same heroics, Bell feels that the batsmen need to score 500 runs in order to be competitive in the contest.

“In 2011 [when England won 3-1], we had a mindset that was just, ‘we are here to win’, and we had a team that was at the top of its powers across the board. Everything went right for us then. For England to do that again, it is going to take a lot of hard work, but as a batting unit, we need to be scoring 500. If we do that, we know we have world-class opening bowlers. When we have lost there, we haven’t scored the volume of runs that you need to in Australia to be successful,” Ian Bell concluded.