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Telegraph

Tone-deaf ECB has broken Ben Stokes by prioritising the Hundred

The ECB was keen to announce that six of the eight ownership contracts have been agreed because negotiations dragged on far longer than expected but another day, once the Test had started, would not have made a big difference and allowed the Test series priority. Instead a stream of press releases from the counties involved and the bankers who handled the deals for the Hundred hit inboxes. Trent Bridge and the Oval are still in talks with their prospective buyers, with Surrey and the Ambani family the most fraught of those negotiations. The press release insisted that the ECB will retain control over 'key areas such as regulations, the length of the window and other matters that have a wider game-wide impact'. We shall see. Stokes was clearly upset and hugely disappointed to miss out and tried to persuade himself he could play as a batsman only to realise at practice that it would be a silly risk to take. He stood forlornly at the side of nets as England trained, watched for a few minutes before he wheeled his kit bag back to the dressing room, and packed it away until the Perth Test in November. In hindsight, while his eight-over spell on the morning of day five at Old Trafford was great sporting theatre and felt crucial to England's chances, it was obvious straightaway he was carrying a shoulder injury. England are still not very good at telling their alpha male captain to give his body a chance. At the drinks break it looked as though Joe Root was trying to persuade Stokes he had done enough. He bowled three more overs to the second new ball, clutching his shoulder between deliveries as he walked back to his mark. The pecking order for the best cricketers has not changed. Stokes struggles to hide his disdain for the Hundred. Despite the aches and pains he described a five-Test series as 'very tough, a real test of character, of physicality but is class to play. .When he won his first IPL earlier this year, Virat Kohli was asked what it meant to him. 'It marks five levels below Test cricket.' Says it all.