Ian Chappell: England need to sort their imbalance for Ashes glory

With Ben Stokes in the team England has a realistic chance of retaining the Ashes If the fiercely competitive allrounder is missing through suspension following a late night altercation in Bristol then theres more chance of the Brexit decision being reversed than England clinging to the urnThats the dilemma facing the England hierarchy If Stokes is convicted theyll have little choice but to seal his fate and the ECB will then be taking a decision they know will almost certainly sentence their team to defeat Nevertheless Stokes is innocent until proven guilty so lets proceed with a breakdown of the two teams on the basis that hell be in Australia receiving endless taunts both on and off the fieldEngland captain Joe RootInvaluable StokesIts not only Stokes skill with bat ball and in the field that makes a difference to England but also his competitive aura His matchwinning capabilities drag his teammates along with him and because hes not overawed by an opponent it helps to boost any England player who feels overmatched in Australia He is a serious difference makerEnglands batting particularly the top order has been an ongoing problem for some time This has come about partly through misguided selection which has in turn led to a badly balanced batting order A contributing factor to the jumbled order is Joe Roots reluctance to bat at three Why hed rather go in at two for very little rather than one for not many is mystifying but his reticence leads to an inferior player batting at three This flaw is then exacerbated by batting Jonny Bairstow and Moeen Ali two skilful batsmen below players of lesser abilityEngland couldve got away with Root at four if opener Haseeb Hameed hadnt been injured since Mark Stoneman could have adequately filled the number three spot Now it looks like the trouble spot will be handled by James VinceVince is a goodlooking player but as I was eloquently advised as a youngster Its not what you look like its the number that goes next to your name on the scoreboard that matters If Vince can turn aesthetics into accumulation then Englands lineup will be greatly enhancedRoot should then be followed by Bairstow Stokes and Ali leaving room for an extra bowler or a specialist wicketkeeper Ben Foakes Thats a potentially stronger and better balanced lineup than any used during the summer but its success is still dependant on producing good startsAussies burdened tooAustralia have similar problems with their batting in that they are heavily reliant on two players mdash David Warner and Steve Smith However the support lineup is more settled than Englands provided Usman Khawaja continues to deliver success at home from the number three spotThe pace bowling on both sides is strong but Australia possesses more speed Wisely harnessed this is a great asset in Australia as Mitchell Johnson amply displayed during Englands last visit Down Under If Australias four leading proponents of pace Mitchell Starc Josh Hazlewood Pat Cummins and James Pattinson can remain fit and inform for the duration of the series then they will defeat England with or without StokesThe spin bowling advantage lies with Australia as Nathan Lyon is a superior offspin exponent to Ali but both will complement the pace attack rather than play a dominant role Englands other area of concern is their fielding They spilt a lot of catches during their home summer and similar mistakes are more likely to be severely punished on Australias batting friendly surfaces Here again Stokes absence would be a big setback especially fielding at slip to AliThe upcoming Ashes series has the potential to be just what Test cricket desperately needs a highly competitive and hard fought contest However it will be severely diminished if Stokes is absent meaning that Australia could virtually wrap up the series before a ball is even bowled following a blow delivered by one of their fiercest opponents