"Superstar" Ben Stokes in "a good place" ahead of Ashes - Chris Silverwood

GEORGE DOBELL IN SYDNEY: Stokes missed the Test series against India as he recovered from a combination of physical and mental health issues, but his return for the Ashes has, Silverwood believes, not only boosted England but left Australia "wary"

The return of Ben Stokes has given England a "massive" lift, according to head coach Chris Silverwood.

Stokes missed the Test series against India as he recovered from a combination of physical and mental health issues, but his return for the Ashes has, Silverwood believes, not only boosted England but left Australia "wary".

Stokes has a fine record against Australia. As well as scoring three Test centuries against them, including one in Perth, he has claimed two five-wicket hauls, including one in Sydney.

And the nature of some of those performances – notably the century at Leeds in 2019 – has, in Silverwood's words, inflicted "hurt" on Australia.

^{England head coach Chris Silverwood, left, and Ben Stokes}

"He is a superstar in his own right," Silverwood said of Stokes. "I certainly think Australia will be wary of him. They know what he can do, what he is capable of and they know he can take anybody down.

"The psychological impact of having him back is massive, really. We felt a lift when his name came back into the hat for the tour. We love having him around and not just from a cricket point of view. As a person he gives us a lift, too. He is lively around the dressing room and he is a leader in his own right. People listen to him. He has a lot of things to share.

"From a cricketing point of view, we've seen how devastating he is with bat and ball. Certainly, that knock at Headingley will be hurting the Australians. It did hurt them and it will still be hurting for a while to come. So they will be wary of him as a cricketer.

"He is focused on what he is doing. Just watching him today, you can see him methodically going through things in his head to get himself a good space for that first game. He is in a good place at the moment."

BEN STOKES vs AUSTRALIA IN TESTS

Matches: 14

Runs: 921

Average: 38.37

100s: 3

Wickets: 34

Average: 35.94

5wi: 2

While Stokes's return has provided England with options, they do not currently seem much closer to deciding the shape of their team for the first Test.

For one thing, it is unclear who will bat at No. 6 and for another, the make-up of the bowling attack remains uncertain. The only two seamers guaranteed to play at this stage would appear to be Stokes and Ollie Robinson.

Heading into the warm-up game last week, it seemed Jonny Bairstow was favourite for that No. 6 position. But two failures in the game have done him few favours and Ollie Pope, who made 81 in the final Test of the summer, is pushing him hard.

"The No. 6 position is one of the talking points we have at the moment," Silverwood said.

"We are keeping a close eye on the two of them and we will make a decision closer to the time. Both of them are playing well in the nets.

"Jonny has good experiences and memories of playing here. He has been successful here before. Then you have the promise of young Ollie. We know he is a good player and we have to take into account the fact the wickets here will suit the way he plays. We saw him get some good runs at the end of last summer at the Oval and we know his pedigree is very good."

^{Stokes is a key part of England's Ashes side}

There has been much talk, not least from Silverwood, about the need for pace in Australia.

But, with rain having hampered pitch preparation and the prospect of more to come in the next week, it remains possible that England's quickest bowler, Mark Wood, will miss out.

And while Joe Root suggested Brisbane was "a good place to bowl spin", Silverwood hinted that an all-seam attack was also a possibility.

If England do opt for the spin of Jack Leach and the pace of Mark Wood, it will leave them with a tricky decision over which of Stuart Broad and James Anderson to leave out.

"Yes, we like pace and I know it's one of the things I banged on about when we talked about the Ashes," Silverwood said. "But we've been successful without pace as well.

"We've Woody here, but we've got other bowlers with great skill sets as well. They have sharp disciplines, they bowl in good areas and they can create various types of movement. I think we've got the skillset to be successful here and pace is one part of that skill set. We will be keeping our options open.

"Could we have an all-seam attack? There's potential for everything. There is an element of the weather kicking around and what the pitch will look like. But we're giving ourselves every option."

^{Stokes is a "massive" lift for England, according to Silverwood}

Meanwhile Silverwood urged the game to "embrace change" in light of the revelations of racism that have rocked the sport in recent weeks. The two clubs with which Silverwood is most associated, Yorkshire and Essex, have been hardest hit by the issue.

And while Silverwood believes he never witnessed anything untoward, he accepts the game "needs to be better".

"Clearly people have been hurt in the past," he said. "And that hurts us as a cricketing fraternity.

"We need to be better. We need to improve. We need to embrace change. We have to make this a game for everyone. It's not just talking about it: we actually need to do something about it as well.

"I'm not sure I did ever hear anything inappropriate," he said. "It is something I have reflected upon. Obviously some of the people that are involved were friends of mine and I've worked closely with. But I would hope that, if I had heard anything, I would have said something. I know moving forward I will.

"It's not something that I believe belongs in the dressing room. I don't believe it's something that anybody should be subjected to, either."

Our coverage of the Ashes is brought to you in association with Cricket 22

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