‘Vulnerable’ Ben Stokes must ignore sledging from Australia in the Ashes, says former England captain Michael Vaughan

Ben Stokes played a central role with bat and ball against New Zealand
Marlon Samuels wound him up during the test with the West Indies
Michael Vaughan believes Australia may target the ‘vulnerable’ star
Vaughan says that Stokes must learn to shut out sledging in the Ashes

Published:
21:31 GMT, 25 June 2015

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Updated:
07:16 GMT, 26 June 2015

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Michael Vaughan has urged Ben Stokes to shut out Australia’s sledging this summer, warning that they will try to wind him up like Marlon Samuels did so effectively in the Caribbean.

Stokes played a central role with bat and ball against New Zealand, hitting 92 and 101 in the Lord’s Test, scoring his one-day runs at a strike-rate of 136 and finishing the 50-over series as England’s leading wicket-taker.

But Vaughan, who famously led England to their first Ashes win for 18 years in 2005, says the Australians will be a different proposition to the affable New Zealanders – and will have taken note of the way Samuels got under his skin, greeting his dismissal during the second Test in Grenada with a mock salute.

Ben Stokes must shut out Australia’s sledging in the Ashes series this summer, warned Michael Vaughan

Stokes played a central role with bat and ball against New Zealand, and hit 92 and 101 in the Lord’s Test

Stokes just about managed to control himself that day, but the provocation may only just have begun.

‘Don’t play Australia thinking it is going to be quiet,’ said Vaughan. ‘With Ben Stokes, you know the way they are going to play against him. You saw with the Marlon Samuels incident that he is a bit vulnerable to anyone having a chirp at him, so don’t be surprised when they all come at him.

‘It won’t be just one: it will be all 11 going at him. How does he control that? So far in his career, firing back hasn’t worked as well as the casual, carefree approach.

‘Whatever he had in his head against New Zealand, who were nice and friendly, he has to take it into the Ashes and shut them off. He has to be able to be strong and control it, because it is different against Australia in that pressure zone.’

Vaughan also believes England should pick Adil Rashid as their frontline spinner in a bid to clean up the Australian lower order with his leg-breaks and googlies.

‘England need to do something a little bit different, and Rashid will help them from that sixth wicket down,’ he said. ‘Australia will have a lot of right-handers who will bat on off stump and nullify Moeen Ali.

He scored one-day runs at a strike-rate of 136 and finished the series as England’s leading wicket-taker

Vaughan says that Stokes must revert to a casual, carefree approach to deal with Australia’s sledging

The former England captain led his side to victory in the Ashes in 2005 for the first time in 18 years

‘I think Moeen is a terrific cricketer who will be around the England team for many years, but what I look for is an attack that will ask questions and Rashid is in confident mood. When Moeen comes on, like Graeme Swann in the last series, they are just going to go for him.

‘But the one thing this team have got, which I don’t think they had five weeks ago, is the nation. They have that 12th and 13th man in terms of the crowd. If they get out of the traps and play well, they really can have a special series.’

Meanwhile, Jos Buttler has called for England’s Test team to carry on entertaining the crowds following the mood-changing one-day series against New Zealand.

Buttler, who has been picking the brains of former England wicketkeepers Matt Prior and Bruce French ahead of his first Ashes series, was central to the fun and frolics, crashing 129 off 77 balls as England hit New Zealand for 408 at Edgbaston.

Jos Buttler wants England’s Test team to carry on entertaining the crowds after an exciting one-day series

Buttler has been picking the brains of former England wicketkeepers Matt Prior and Bruce French

‘My view is that you have a duty to entertain people,’ he said. ‘You want people to watch you bat, not being in the bars.

‘What has been really pleasing in the last few weeks is that guys have come in and wanted to show international cricket what they’ve got. They want people to know who they are and what they can do.

‘You are really lucky to get thousands of people in a ground watching you do your job. That’s a great place to be and it’s our duty to entertain them.’

He says that cricketers have a duty to entertain people and that it is great to have people watching him play

Michael and Jos were speaking as a part of a programme of events in support of Yorkshire Tea National Cricket Week, in partnership with Chance to Shine. To find out more and donate visit: www.chancetoshine.org