Trevor Bayliss believes England’s Ben Stokes has come a long way in 12 months when it comes to on-field behaviour and has warned that match officials who come down hard on what he calls “by-play” between players could rob cricket of its personalities.
Stokes moved closer to a possible suspension during the third Test defeat in Mohali when he was charged with using “language or a gesture that is obscene, offensive or insulting” during an exchange with the India captain, Virat Kohli, after he was stumped for 29 during England’s first innings.
The official reprimand that followed was Stokes’s second in a month after he was fined 15% of his match fee during the second Test in Dhaka for “verbally engaging” with the Bangladesh batsman Sabbir Rahman. Two more charges in the next two years will result in him being suspended for one Test match or two one-day internationals.
“I think at times the ICC are almost looking for things,” Bayliss said. “I agree things have been out of hand in the past and we don’t want it to go overboard. But sometimes a little bit of by-play between a couple of guys on either side who are passionate about their cricket and their team, I think it’s good for the game.
“We’ve just got to be careful we don’t go overboard and completely cut that out. I think having some personalities in the game is fantastic to watch. Ben Stokes has got to learn to deal with it in a different way or get away with it a bit better. I think he’s come a long way in the last 12 months or so and I’m sure he’ll keep improving in that area.”
While the ICC can punish players off the field retrospectively, there are no provisions in the laws that provide a deterrent within the game itself. This may be about to change, with player behaviour one of a number of issues being discussed by the MCC world cricket committee in Mumbai next week, before the fourth Test.
The committee, which will be chaired by the former England captain Mike Brearley, will consider a number of options to be written into the laws and applied at all levels, including the possible use of red and yellow cards, sin-bins or run-penalties to help umpires police the sport.
With England 2-0 down to India going into the Mumbai Test, the form of Stokes in alien conditions represents a rare plus during what is proving to be a tough tour against the world’s No. 1 Test side. His five for 73 in Mohali and the 128 made in Rajkot means he is only the sixth touring player to claim a five-wicket haul and score a century in a series here, a feat achieved by Ian Botham, in 1980 and 1981.
“That’s a feather in his cap,” Bayliss said. “Some of us are in awe of him. He just doesn’t stop. He’s like a wind-up clock. You get him off at the break, wind him up and send him back out.”
While the England management have remained in India, the bulk of the players are taking what they hope will be a restorative five-day break in the United Arab Emirates. Among them is Stuart Broad, who is taking time out of the trip to work with the medical team supporting the Lions side in Dubai as he tries to deal with the strained foot tendon that saw him miss the Mohali defeat.
Broad will have further fitness tests before the fourth Test from December 8, although Bayliss has admitted he is not 100% confident the 30-year-old will be ready in time.
Watching on in Mumbai will be Haseeb Hameed, who has stated his intention to return to the tour after surgery in England on his broken little finger. The 19-year-old opener will rejoin his family, who have remained in the country.
