India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate lauded Ben Stokes for his marathon spells in the 3rd test match at Lord’s but added not every other player has to follow that same example. Stokes had bowled spells of 9.2 overs and 10 overs to maintain pressure on the India line up which ultimately paid off as England ran away with a 22-run win.
Experts had cited Stokes’ example and pointed out that India could have utilized Jasprit Bumrah more in that Test but Doeschate said that the two scenarios aren’t comparable with every player having their own unique strengths.
“That was super impressive for Ben to come out on their last day and bowl the amount of overs he did with the intensity he did, and obviously bats and fields as well. We’re not here to compare our bowlers to individuals from other teams. We have our own strengths. We know what particularly Jasprit does in spells, in shorter spells, which he prefers bowling in,” the former Netherlands international said on Thursday.
“And when the time’s right, and what I alluded about Siraj, some bowlers are like that. You get the best out of them in their seventh, eighth and ninth over, but not everyone has to be the same as that. And we feel that in consultation with Jasprit, how we use him is the best way for the team,” he added.
Doeschate also said it is equally important to manage the workload of someone like Mohammed Siraj who is always ready bowl those extra overs, like Stokes did on day five at Lord’s.
“We take for granted how lucky we are to have someone like that. I know he doesn’t always have the returns that you expect from a fast bowler, but in terms of heart, he’s like a lion and what he brings to this bowling attack, whenever he does have the ball in hand you always feel like something’s going to happen,” he said.
“He’s not someone who’s going to shy away from workload, so it makes it even more important for us to manage his workload and make sure that he’s at least fit to give his best. And again, we’ll take a call on the combination we play, particularly given the Arshdeep situation as well, we’ll make that call closer to Manchester,” said Doeschate referring to the left-arm pacer getting injured during training.
