“Ian Botham took wickets bowling off spin” - David Lloyd wonders if Ben Stokes can reinvent himself as a spinner

Former England cricketer David Lloyd reckons that Ben Stokes doesn’t seem fully fit to bowl and could perhaps ponder upon reinventing himself as an off spinner. Giving the example of the legendary Ian Botham and a few others, he asserted that players have done the same in the past.

England captain Stokes looked out of rhythm on Day 1 of the second Ashes 2023 Test at Lord’s after the hosts won the toss and fielded first in overcast conditions. The pacer bowled only three overs for 21 runs, which included three no balls as well.

Australia dominated Day 1 of the second Test and went to stumps at 339/5. As for England, their worries over Stokes’ bowling fitness continue. Sharing his views on the hosts’ bowling performance, Lloyd opined that they were missing a spinner.

He wrote in his column for The Daily Mail:

“Late in the day, I had a quiet moment and wondered if I was old fashioned and whether the game was passing me by because England were crying out for a spinner. They had no sense of deception or guile with four right arm quicks. It was all very predictable and one-dimensional.”

On Stokes’ lack of effectiveness with the ball, he made an interesting suggestion. The 76-year-old wrote:

“It's clear that Ben Stokes isn't fully fit to bowl and I wonder if he can reinvent himself as an off spinner. Eddie Hemmings did it. Mike Watkinson did it. Ashley Giles did it. And Ian Botham took wickets bowling off spin. Stokes has a basic action and it wouldn't put any strain on his front knee.

“I wouldn't put it past him to be able to convert. I know it's a left-field call but it's been done before. Anyways Joe Root came along, so I rest my case for now...,” he added.

Root dismissed Travis Head (77) and Cameron Green (0) in one over to give a boost to England late in the day.

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“That should have been a tricky session for Australia” - David Lloyd questions England’s lack of effectiveness

Like a number of other experts, Lloyd also raised questions over England’s lack of potency with the ball, especially in the first session, when conditions were near-perfect for pace bowling.

According to the former cricketer, Australia should have been tested, but weren’t. Lloyd stated:

“After all the queues, what a strange and subdued morning session it was. The crowd was quiet until the stroke of lunch and it was a far cry from everything we witnessed at Edgbaston. All very underwhelming with a lot of stopping and starting and in the end, the session just passed England by and set the tone for the rest of the day.

"That should have been a tricky session for Australia under dark skies but it was anything but. Another opportunity missed for England,” he lamented.

Josh Tongue, coming in for Moeen Ali, was the pick of the bowlers for England, registering figures of 2/88 from 18 overs.