England cricket team has no chance of winning the Ashes without Ben Stokes, says Ian Chappell

England cricket team has no chance of winning the Ashes without Ben Stokes, says Ian Chappell

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Former Australia captain Ian Chappell feels that England will not be able to win the Ashes without having Ben Stokes in the squad and called him a match-winning player. Another former Australian captain, Allan Border said that match will get spoiled without Stokes.

According to Ian Chappell, England "haven't got a hope in hell" of winning the Ashes if they sideline all-rounder Ben Stokes owing to the street tussle outside a Bristol nightclub. The incident took place just a night before the game with West Indies and Stokes wasn't permitted to play that game, as he was arrested but was later released without any charges.

Stokes is the vice-captain of the England test side and was named in England's 16-man squad for the Ashes tour, which is scheduled to start in November, however, he was suspended on Thursday until further investigation into the incident. That didn't stop Chappell from coming out and praising Stokes for his abilities and said that England does not have a hope in hell to win without him.

"They can't win without him (Stokes) for a number of reasons," Chappell told Sydney's Daily Telegraph.

"Obviously his ability is the main thing, but also, he's a match-winning player and those sort of players drag the rest along with them and make them better. He's probably one of those players inspired by playing against the better teams and again that has a follow on effect to the fellas that don't have that sort of confidence. I don’t think they've got a hope in hell without him."

Ben Stokes' suspension would be a golden advantage for the Australian team and would significantly boost their chances, however, former captain Allan Border believes that without the firebrand all-rounder, the five-match test series would be spoiled.

"He is one of those cricketers you would go to watch play. He's just got something about him, the aggressive nature of his cricket is exciting and it would be a real blow if he doesn't come," said Border.

The former England captain Michael Vaughan said that no matter the verdict of the case, Stokes has let himself down this time and the team has suffered as well because he lost control.

"I am all for players having a bit of downtime. In the world of cricket, with the players travelling all the time, you do need a bit of downtime, but he (Stokes) has to look himself in the mirror," Vaughan told BBC.

"He can have as many talks from the England management, from his wife and his agent, but he has got to understand now what he's doing and what he's been involved in the last few days," Vaughan added.

"I just don’t understand why he would want to be in a bar at 2:30 in the morning on the Monday, before a game on the Wednesday. He is putting himself in a place where he is a target. He is a very famous person these days."

Stokes, since his debut against Australia in 2013, has been a match-winning figure for the England side and in 39 tests, he has scored 2,429 runs and picked up 95 wickets.

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