Nasser Hussain blames England's ODI imbalance on Ben Stokes's absence
What's the story
Former England cricket captain, Nasser Hussain, has blamed the recent defeat of the English team in the ongoing Champions Trophy on the absence of all-rounder Ben Stokes.
Despite a record-breaking performance by Ben Duckett, who scored an unprecedented 165 runs against Australia, England couldn't seal the deal.
Meanwhile, this loss has added to England's ODI woes, as they had recently lost all three ODIs against India.
The loss has reignited a debate on the team's composition and strategy.
Here's more.
Record-breaking feat
Duckett's historic performance overshadowed by team's defeat
Duckett's brilliant show helped England post 351-8, the then highest total in the history of Champions Trophy.
Notably, Australia's attack was weakened as they missed the services of key players Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, and Pat Cummins.
Despite all the good fortune and an early advantage with Australia at 21-2 and then 136-4, England couldn't make the most of their position.
Unexpected turnaround
Australia's comeback highlights England's strategic shortcomings
Australia pulled off a stunning comeback with Josh Inglis scoring an unbeaten 120 off just 86 balls, aided by Alex Carey and Matthew Short, and finished by Glenn Maxwell.
They won with 15 balls to spare, despite the absence of key players like Mitchell Marsh, Marcus Stoinis, and Cameron Green.
This turn of events highlighted the strategic problems plaguing the English team in their ODI lineup.
Strategic conundrum
Hussain highlights England's dilemma in team composition
Further, Hussain highlighted that England's move to bolster their batting by depending on part-timers as the fifth bowler backfired.
He observed that between them, Liam Livingstone and Joe Root gave away 73 runs in 11 overs.
"They can't work out whether to play the extra batter, which they did today," Hussain to Sky Sports after the game.
"That means their bowling is a bit short." Or play one of their bowling all-rounders, [Gus] Atkinson or [Jamie] Overton," he added.
Missing link
Stokes's absence leaves void in England's ODI lineup
Hussain stressed on the importance of Stokes in balancing England's playing XI.
"I think recent cricket has shown the value of one individual, and that is Ben Stokes," he said.
"That Ben Stokes character and individual makes your balance of batting and bowling much more comfortable, and I think he's a big loss."
This statement underlines how much Stokes's absence would affect the team.
Notably, Stokes has not played List A cricket (let alone ODIs) since the 2023 World Cup.
Stats
A look at Stokes' ODI numbers for England
Across 114 ODIs, Stokes has amassed 3,463 runs at 41.22.
Across 99 innings, he has managed a strike rate of 95.68, including five hundreds and 24 fifties.
His highest score is 182 (vs New Zealand). Meanwhile, with the ball he has bagged 74 scalps at 42.39 (ER: 6.05).
Stoke also owns one five and four-wicket haul each.