[VIDEOS] Ben Stokes - England’s best ever all-rounder? / England’s Test captain

[Zaz]

He is light years ahead of Botham and one of the all time great all rounders

Hes clutch but nowhere near botham in terms of performances

People dont realise how good botham really was in his initial years

He had 10 test hundreds and 19fivers in his first 50 tests

Those are insane performances He was basically two great players in one during his initial years

 

[SpiritOf1903]

In the brilliant documentary about 2019 'The Greatest Game', Mark Wood mentions how Stokes eyes were "glazed"...and Stokes took offence to that. Like Djokovic, his bottle defies logic

 

[Robert]

Hes clutch but nowhere near botham in terms of performances

People dont realise how good botham really was in his initial years

He had 10 test hundreds and 19fivers in his first 50 tests

Those are insane performances He was basically two great players in one during his initial years

I'd say they are equals as batters and catchers. Botham was often brilliant at hammering England out of holes, and piling on runs fast to set up the England bowlers. Though he could also block when he wanted to, as when he held Imran, Wasim and Qadir off all day to draw a test. He was quite two-paced. Stokes can move through the gears better than Botham usually did, according to the situation.

Both brilliant catchers in any position.

Botham was a main strike bowler in tests. Stokes has never been in that category - he's a test match fourth seamer.

That's in the test arena. In LO I think I would prefer Stokes due to the clutch factor.

 

[Robert]

In the brilliant documentary about 2019 'The Greatest Game', Mark Wood mentions how Stokes eyes were "glazed"...and Stokes took offence to that. Like Djokovic, his bottle defies logic

It's not bottle. That's what the SAS have. Djokovic and Stokes go very deep into The Zone, a mental state of relaxed focus.

 

[SpiritOf1903]

It's not bottle. That's what the SAS have. Djokovic and Stokes go very deep into The Zone, a mental state of relaxed focus.

Hmm... It's surely a combination of focus and nerve.

Very few possess it, that's certain. Stokes has recovered amazingly from 2016

 

[Ab Fan]

Extremely lucky cricketer.

In 2019 WC Final, he needed to chase 15 of final overs. Got 4 runs extra due to sheer luck. Needed 3 runs of 2 balls and could still tie the game only.

Plenty of missed chances in 2019 Ashes and 2022 World Cup Final.

 

[Robert]

Extremely lucky cricketer.

In 2019 WC Final, he needed to chase 15 of final overs. Got 4 runs extra due to sheer luck. Needed 3 runs of 2 balls and could still tie the game only.

Plenty of missed chances in 2019 Ashes and 2022 World Cup Final.

I don’t believe in luck over a career. You make your luck by working hard and putting the oppo under pressure so they make mistakes. Stokes trains harder than anyone else.

 

[jnaveen1980]

Extremely lucky cricketer.

In 2019 WC Final, he needed to chase 15 of final overs. Got 4 runs extra due to sheer luck. Needed 3 runs of 2 balls and could still tie the game only.

Plenty of missed chances in 2019 Ashes and 2022 World Cup Final.

He is not your quintessential T20 player. He can play a support role for other power strikers. Strike rate of 128 for someone who is batting in the middle is very low. He and Malan can screw up the chances of big total if England bats first. But a good utility player due to his bowling and spectacular fielding.

 

[Savak]

The guy is very lucky to have escaped a prison sentence for assaulting another person where he was caught on camera. He claimed he was acting in self defense from provocation but the prosecution worked very hard to prove that the force he used was not reasonable and was in fact intended to seriously injure the other person.

 

[SpiritOf1903]

The guy is very lucky to have escaped a prison sentence for assaulting another person where he was caught on camera. He claimed he was acting in self defense from provocation but the prosecution worked very hard to prove that the force he used was not reasonable and was in fact intended to seriously injure the other person.

That was a seriously dubious decision that made a mockery of the judicial system.

It looked for the world his career was done at that point!

 

[HitWicket]

The guy is very lucky to have escaped a prison sentence for assaulting another person where he was caught on camera. He claimed he was acting in self defense from provocation but the prosecution worked very hard to prove that the force he used was not reasonable and was in fact intended to seriously injure the other person.

In what world is a punch not reasonable force in comparison to trying to strangle people and smash their skulls in with glass bottles and metal rods.

 

[James]

Luckiest player alive. For sure. Like, with this kind of luck, you could win 50 different lotteries.

Ball hits his bat or whatever as he gets 4 overthrown runs in the 2019 WC final, making his job 100x easier, and even then could barely tie the game.

And then in this 2022 t20 final, balls beats his bat 10-20 times by Naseem and co. We’re talking millimeters of distance between bat and ball for multiple deliveries over and over again. Then 2-3 run out chances missed too.

Incredibly lucky guy. All of this luck topped off with Moeen’s top edge boundary as well + Shaheen injured with 2 overs to spare still.

Sheesh. Yeah I’m still livid after that loss, whatever.

One makes one’s own luck.

 

[James]

I don’t believe in luck over a career. You make your luck by working hard and putting the oppo under pressure so they make mistakes. Stokes trains harder than anyone else.

Spot on.

 

[James]

The guy is very lucky to have escaped a prison sentence for assaulting another person where he was caught on camera. He claimed he was acting in self defense from provocation but the prosecution worked very hard to prove that the force he used was not reasonable and was in fact intended to seriously injure the other person.

That was a seriously dubious decision that made a mockery of the judicial system.

It looked for the world his career was done at that point!

I respect the decision of the jury, who had access to the full information and every item of evidence.

He was cleared in the eyes of the law, and that’s all that matters.

 

[MenInG]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Ben Stokes has only been in Pakistan a short while, but he's already winning the hearts of the nation <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PAKvENG?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PAKvENG</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a> <a href="https://t.co/6ih9agUJvM">pic.twitter.com/6ih9agUJvM</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/SajSadiqCricket/status/1597179443038277633?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 28, 2022</a></blockquote>
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[ex-q-zit]

Ben Stokes Keeps Door Open For ODI World Cup Return In India: Reports

Star all-rounder Ben Stokes has not ruled out the possibility of coming out of ODI retirement for England's title defence of the 50-over World Cup in India next year. The 31-year-old England Test captain had announced retirement from ODIs in July, citing pressure on his workload, but less than five months after that decision, he has left the door open for a possible U-turn. "Who knows how I might feel towards a World Cup at the time," Stokes was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo website.

He was speaking ahead of the first Test against Pakistan which began here on Thursday. Stokes starred in England's 2019 50-over World Cup final win and did the same again when they were crowned T20 champions in Australia in November.

The next 50-over World Cup will be held in India in October-November in 2023.

"It's one of those things. Going to a World Cup is an amazing thing to do, to represent your country," he said.

"But at the moment I'm not even thinking about that. My focus is solely on this series (against Pakistan)." Stokes was one of the players that missed training on Wednesday as a viral infection outbreak hit the English camp.

Stokes said he was approached by director of cricket Rob Key in the aftermath of the T20 success about a return for the 50-over World Cup.

"He pulled me to the side and as soon as he said '50-over World Cup' I just walked away," said Stokes.

When Stokes announced his ODI retirement, he had said it should serve as a warning to authorities over the amount of multi-format cricket players are expected to play.

"There is too much cricket rammed in for people to play all three formats now," he said in July.

"We are not cars, you can't just fill us up and we'll go out there and be ready to be fuelled up again." He had then dismissed suggestion he would come back to play at the 50-over World Cup.

"It wouldn't be fair on anyone who gets that opportunity with me not playing this format now to all of a sudden be like, 'Yeah, I'll come back'," he had said.

NDTV

 

[Robert]

I respect the decision of the jury, who had access to the full information and every item of evidence.

He was cleared in the eyes of the law, and that’s all that matters.

Quite so.

 

[James]

What an ingenious appointment Ben Stokes was as the England Test captain.

Not the man who I would have been personally brave enough to pick for this role myself. But it’s Rob Key who has proven myself and many others wrong with the choice that he made.

 

[MenInG]

Brilliant captaincy from Stokes towards the end of the day - put pressure on Pakistan and now England in the driving seat

 

[James]

Another solid day for Stokes as England’s on field captain. Creative and persistent.

 

[Forum363]

Imagine if Joe Root was captain. Pakistan would still be batting on 500 for 1 on this pitch.

Stokes is a fantastic captain and is well on the way to becoming an GOAT impact player for England.

 

[SpiritOf1903]

I respect the decision of the jury, who had access to the full information and every item of evidence.

He was cleared in the eyes of the law, and that’s all that matters.

The law's not infallible. No doubt he being a world class sportsman was a huge factor in the decision.

It's almost a miracle Ben Stokes is a cricketer, let alone captain

 

[James]

The law's not infallible. No doubt he being a world class sportsman was a huge factor in the decision.

It's almost a miracle Ben Stokes is a cricketer, let alone captain

and what a fine miracle it is! (and he is)

 

[Robert]

What an ingenious appointment Ben Stokes was as the England Test captain.

Not the man who I would have been personally brave enough to pick for this role myself. But it’s Rob Key who has proven myself and many others wrong with the choice that he made.

I was wrong about this. He has been inspiring, and understanding of his bowlers.

Significant that he hardly bowls any more, though. He won’t reach 200 test wickets.

 

[Robert]

The law's not infallible. No doubt he being a world class sportsman was a huge factor in the decision.

Tried by a jury of twelve members of the public. I very much doubt that they were all cricket fans, or that all of them had even heard of him.

 

[Rana]

IMO he is a bit too impatient or too bored in Test cricket, therefore he just does things with a very high adrenaline in his thought process.

It’s working well for him so far I guess

 

[James]

Significant that he hardly bowls any more, though. He won’t reach 200 test wickets.

He won’t take 8 more Test wickets ?

 

[James]

I was wrong about this. He has been inspiring, and understanding of his bowlers.

In the recent series against New Zealand I watched England play at Headingley in person. It was fascinating to watch the Ben Stokes captaincy unfolding live.

The way that Stokes constantly manipulates and sets his fields (which can’t be seen on tv) is particularly clever, and much better than Cook or Root before him.

He calmly led England out onto the pitch that morning and had the unmistakeable aura of a natural leader. The guys following him looked like they were exuding the confidence of a united team who believed they were about to bowl out the opposition. (and they did.)

A natural leader in Test cricket such as Ben Stokes is a luxury that we probably haven’t enjoyed since Strauss was the captain. I just hope he lasts for a couple more years at least before retirement, because in the end his body is going to pack up for good and fail him.

 

[Robert]

He won’t take 8 more Test wickets ?

He’s on 192? More than I thought. I had the idea he had about 165.

 

[James]

He’s on 192? More than I thought. I had the idea he had about 165.

Yes 192 it seems. He has actually taken quite a few poles as the captain. He is deploying himself in very occasional short bursts, usually bowling short. But he does look to be chronically injured in his knee now, and it won’t ever really get better, so he might just take those 8 more wickets and not many more.

 

[Robert]

Yes 192 it seems. He has actually taken quite a few poles as the captain. He is deploying himself in very occasional short bursts, usually bowling short. But he does look to be chronically injured in his knee now, and it won’t ever really get better, so he might just take those 8 more wickets and not many more.

As skipper, 24 wickets at 24 overs in eight tests. Pretty good as he averages 41 with the bat over that period.

 

[Forum363]

Stokes' captaincy single handed took England to an incredible win. Not even the great Aussie team could have manufactured a result on this pitch and yet Stokes managed to do it with barely 4 bowlers.

His field changes, using the spinners in the first innings and then pacers in the second, the tempo at which the batters scored and the incredibly brave declaration set up this win.

Egg on the face of [MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION] once again, who called him a quitter and wanted the loser Root to remain captain. This is the value of a good leader and Stokes has given more to English cricket than Root, Botham or any other English cricketer.

 

[kingusama92]

What a captain.

Just perfect.

Courageous, smart, and has a great feel for the game.

 

[James]

Completely and utterly immense.

What an amazing leader.

 

[Forum363]

Not sure why people think it is a good idea to make him captain. It is not even worthy of discussing.

Stokes is a quitter these days and has mentally checked out. Like many England players before him, he is mentally tired and playing international cricket is now a burden for him.

You make him captain and a few heavy defeats later, he will either resign or play the mental health card and take a break.

Stokes is still a top player when he is focused on his cricket but his best days are behind him. He is not going to scale the heights of 2016-2019 again which was his peak.

He is mentally and physically not the player he once was and English should be prepared for life without him and after him.

Root is the only option for captaincy. He is the best England player by a country mile and the most reliable option. He is fit and doesn’t carry any of this mental health baggage.

He is a phenomenal player and a good captain. England is losing because they don’t have a strong batting unit not because Root has bad tactics.

My my my.

Come on [MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION] please come back and reply to this for once. But we all know you would instead go to the Naseem thread and talk about how poorly Naseem batted etc.

Please tell us more about how Root the loser should be the captain. Tell us more about how Stokes is finished. Tell us about the few heavy defeats after which stokes will quit and mention his mental health.

 

[Savak]

England were having a disastrous streak in test cricket under Root and Silverwood where they lost a good 16-17 test matches in the season where a lot of the defeats were down to a scared, timid playing not to lose mentality.

The ECB decided to shake things up, Root stepped down as captain, Silverwood was axed, Stokes was made captain and Mccullam was made coach. Both these players have totally transformed the culture and brand of cricket being played by the team and its reflecting on the team's results.

 

[James]

England captain Ben Stokes has hailed his "special group of players" for having "no interest in playing for the draws" after their remarkable 74 run win over Pakistan in Rawalpindi.

Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum have got England playing a new positive and aggressive style of Test cricket and it has been hugely successful, with England winning seven out of eight games since their appointment.

Stokes and McCullum have both said they are prepared to lose in order to have a chance at winning and this victory was a perfect example of their mantra. Speaking after the win, Stokes said: "I don't think I have seen a group of players who want to put their body on the line as much for the other ten guys on the field - a really special group of players.

"We wanted to come here to Pakistan and carry on with our mantra of exciting cricket and giving ourselves the best opportunity to win a Test match. I have got no interest in playing for draws, the dressing room's got no interest in playing for draws and we always try and look at the positive option.

"On wickets like this you've got to make things happen with the way that you play, score your runs quickly and then make some pretty rash and bold decisions with your field placings and bowling changes. I think this is up there with one of England's greatest away Test match wins."

He also hailed his side for putting in such an impressive performance after a virus swept through the England camp and threatened to delay the Test by a day, with Will Jacks and Ollie Pope singled out for stepping up after wicketkeeper Ben Foakes was too unwell to play.

"There are a few things you can plan for, which is obviously the way we want to approach Test cricket," Stokes added. "But some of the things you can't plan for is what happened to the squad a few days before.

"That seems a long time ago now when we were wondering if we were going to start the Test match on time so I have to give the group of players a lot of credit for turning up a little bit under the weather.

"There were some key individual performers – Will Jacks getting the nod to make his debut about three minutes before team time and Popey having to don the gloves with the crucial role of batting at three. You can go through this whole Test match and point out key individuals, but what we had to deal with coming into this Test match makes this win even better."

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/cricket/england-ben-stokes-pakistan-mccullum-28658931

 

[shamaan]

A true warrior.

 

[James]

Brilliant captaincy from Stokes towards the end of the day - put pressure on Pakistan and now England in the driving seat

Got everything right here.

 

[Robert]

My my my.

Come on [MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION] please come back and reply to this for once. But we all know you would instead go to the Naseem thread and talk about how poorly Naseem batted etc.

Please tell us more about how Root the loser should be the captain. Tell us more about how Stokes is finished. Tell us about the few heavy defeats after which stokes will quit and mention his mental health.

Seven wins in eight tests for Stokes. He’s on top of the world.

 

[Forum363]

Seven wins in eight tests for Stokes. He’s on top of the world.

But 'Root was a better captain even after he lost 16 out of 17 matches' and 'changing the captain won't fix England's terrible batting' and 'Bazball only worked as a fluke due to Bairstow's purple patch'.

Now waiting for [MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION]'s latest excuse. But he's busy trashing Naseem Shah.

 

[Savak]

I am finding this hyping and romanticizing of Stokes to nauseating.

First of all this is not all Stokes, Brendon Mccullam was always a suicidal Maverick who played and captained with an all or nothing approach and he bought this philosophy to the NZ team who were notorious for being a conservative team. Mccullam definitely has a huge say in the dressing room and we have seen a few times where he has given instantaneous feedback on the field to the captain regarding a batsmans weakness and how to go about dismissing him ie Shreyas Iyer.

Kohli inspired India to bowl out England in two sessions on the final day at Lord's in 2021 when the pitch was flat and offered nothing to the bowlers but the English bowlers ie Siraj and Co got the job done no questions asked against a strong England team which batted all the way down to number ten. But you won't see the Western media hyping that achievement.

 

[Forum363]

I am finding this hyping and romanticizing of Stokes to nauseating.

First of all this is not all Stokes, Brendon Mccullam was always a suicidal Maverick who played and captained with an all or nothing approach and he bought this philosophy to the NZ team who were notorious for being a conservative team. Mccullam definitely has a huge say in the dressing room and we have seen a few times where he has given instantaneous feedback on the field to the captain regarding a batsmans weakness and how to go about dismissing him ie Shreyas Iyer.

Kohli inspired India to bowl out England in two sessions on the final day at Lord's in 2021 when the pitch was flat and offered nothing to the bowlers but the English bowlers ie Siraj and Co got the job done no questions asked against a strong England team which batted all the way down to number ten. But you won't see the Western media hyping that achievement.

You would be right if this was the only instance of Stokes' superhuman efforts.

He single handedly took England to the ODI World Cup. He single handedly won them the Ashes Test match. He Single handedly won them the chase against Sri Lanka and Pakistan to give England the t20 World Cup.

He took a team which was lost 17 games in a row and took them to 7/8 wins. This is with missing a number of key players.

Ofcourse Mccullum has an impact but without stokes out on the field, setting the standard, this team would not be half as good. His leadership is impeccable and he is willing to take risks.

 

[Robert]

You would be right if this was the only instance of Stokes' superhuman efforts.

He single handedly took England to the ODI World Cup. He single handedly won them the Ashes Test match. He Single handedly won them the chase against Sri Lanka and Pakistan to give England the t20 World Cup.

He took a team which was lost 17 games in a row and took them to 7/8 wins. This is with missing a number of key players.

Ofcourse Mccullum has an impact but without stokes out on the field, setting the standard, this team would not be half as good. His leadership is impeccable and he is willing to take risks.

That’s a little hyperbolic. England would not have got to the ODI final without Root’s runs and Wood & Archer’s wickets. Neither could Stokes have played the miracle Ashes innings without Leach’s dogged blocking at the other end. It’s a team game.

Concur on the captaincy point, but again Stokes is enabled by Key and BMac behind the scenes.

 

[Robert]

I am finding this hyping and romanticizing of Stokes to nauseating.

First of all this is not all Stokes, Brendon Mccullam was always a suicidal Maverick who played and captained with an all or nothing approach and he bought this philosophy to the NZ team who were notorious for being a conservative team. Mccullam definitely has a huge say in the dressing room and we have seen a few times where he has given instantaneous feedback on the field to the captain regarding a batsmans weakness and how to go about dismissing him ie Shreyas Iyer.

Kohli inspired India to bowl out England in two sessions on the final day at Lord's in 2021 when the pitch was flat and offered nothing to the bowlers but the English bowlers ie Siraj and Co got the job done no questions asked against a strong England team which batted all the way down to number ten. But you won't see the Western media hyping that achievement.

Why would “Western media” - by which I assume you mean the English sports pages - celebrate an English defeat?

 

[Forum363]

That’s a little hyperbolic. England would not have got to the ODI final without Root’s runs and Wood & Archer’s wickets. Neither could Stokes have played the miracle Ashes innings without Leach’s dogged blocking at the other end. It’s a team game.

Concur on the captaincy point, but again Stokes is enabled by Key and BMac behind the scenes.

Ofcourse, it’s impossible in any scenario for any one player to win even a game single handedly. However there’s a big difference between getting to the final and winning it as we saw with Pakistan recently. And there’s no doubt that England had lost that match had Stokes not played a highly improbable innings.

For the test match, yes Leach did incredibly well, but it’s not unheard of for a tailender to block for a while. But it’s a lot more rare for there to be such a big partnership for the last wicket because the recognised batsman has just so much to do.

Once again, there are lots of other reasons for each success but the single common factor is Stokes, hence his greatness.

It’s like Dhoni, he had a great Indian team he led but the guy won literally everything. He was a champion and you could see him as the common factor in all his trophies.

 

[Robert]

Ofcourse, it’s impossible in any scenario for any one player to win even a game single handedly. However there’s a big difference between getting to the final and winning it as we saw with Pakistan recently. And there’s no doubt that England had lost that match had Stokes not played a highly improbable innings.

For the test match, yes Leach did incredibly well, but it’s not unheard of for a tailender to block for a while. But it’s a lot more rare for there to be such a big partnership for the last wicket because the recognised batsman has just so much to do.

Once again, there are lots of other reasons for each success but the single common factor is Stokes, hence his greatness.

It’s like Dhoni, he had a great Indian team he led but the guy won literally everything. He was a champion and you could see him as the common factor in all his trophies.

I don’t think Stokes will ever average 45 with the bat or under 30 with the ball.

He is, however very, very clutch. Probably the most clutch England player I have seen, though Lamb, Atherton and Gooch also spring to mind.

 

[Forum363]

I don’t think Stokes will ever average 45 with the bat or under 30 with the ball.

He is, however very, very clutch. Probably the most clutch England player I have seen, though Lamb, Atherton and Gooch also spring to mind.

He’s easily good enough to average 45+ with the bat. He just often bats in the lower order and has a set role.

For example on the road in Rawalpindi, he could have scored 200 runs had he properly batted but he knew he wasn’t needed.

 

[James]

He’s easily good enough to average 45+ with the bat. He just often bats in the lower order and has a set role.

For example on the road in Rawalpindi, he could have scored 200 runs had he properly batted but he knew he wasn’t needed.

That’s the answer right there.

Stokes doesn’t care about his batting average or his bowling average. A lot of players claim this, but it isn’t true. In his case it is.

Stokes cares about contributing to the team in any way he can, enjoying his cricket, and England getting the win in the end. That’s it.

 

[Forum363]

That’s the answer right there.

Stokes doesn’t care about his batting average or his bowling average. A lot of players claim this, but it isn’t true. In his case it is.

Stokes cares about contributing to the team in any way he can, enjoying his cricket, and England getting the win in the end. That’s it.

Exactly, and he has shown that time and time again. The likes of Butler and Bairstow will get big runs and capture the headlines often but Stokes wins tournaments.

All the more impressive when you consider what happened with Brathwaite and how he basically lost that match and then the issues in his personal life.

 

[Robert]

He’s easily good enough to average 45+ with the bat. He just often bats in the lower order and has a set role.

For example on the road in Rawalpindi, he could have scored 200 runs had he properly batted but he knew he wasn’t needed.

Didn’t say he wasn’t “good enough” to average 45, said he won’t. He’s like Botham’s in that regard - will always choose to attack (though Botham would drop anchor on occasion).

 

[Forum363]

Didn’t say he wasn’t “good enough” to average 45, said he won’t. He’s like Botham’s in that regard - will always choose to attack (though Botham would drop anchor on occasion).

It's not that he will attack, he will play according to the team's requirements.

When the need is there, he will bat out the whole day for a draw better than any other batsman in the England team.

 

[Mobashir]

Didn’t say he wasn’t “good enough” to average 45, said he won’t. He’s like Botham’s in that regard - will always choose to attack (though Botham would drop anchor on occasion).

If I had to pick a pair of batsmen for a blockathon today I will pick Smith and Stokes.
Don't underestimate his resilience. He is the best cricketer of the last 10 years.

 

[U$ofA]

By the way, all the talk about Stokes rejecting the IPL lasted all of one season. Yes one solitary season.

Stokes has listed himself in the most expensive category. Of course, he will go at a much higher rate.

 

[James]

Yet another good performance as captain from SuperBen, this time on Day 1 of the Karachi Test.

He managed his bowling changes carefully, made creative plans on the field, and looked after the emotions of his bowlers once again.

 

[Forum363]

[MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION] still hiding from the garbage he posted on this thread.

His normal tactic is to wait long enough until England lose a few matches and then blame it on Stokes.

Even if Stokes quits now, he’s the best captain England had for the past couple of decades.

 

[James]

Stokes deputised for Root in 1 Test a couple of years ago which was a loss, and then under his full time captaincy England have won 9 out of 10 Tests.

An 81.8% win rate as captain in Test cricket, that’s very impressive indeed.

 

[James]

Stokes deputised for Root in 1 Test a couple of years ago which was a loss, and then under his full time captaincy England have won 9 out of 10 Tests.

An 81.8% win rate as captain in Test cricket, that’s very impressive indeed.

In these Tests, England have taken all 190 of the 190 possible wickets on offer from 19 innings.

 

[MenInG]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">This lad <a href="https://twitter.com/benstokes38?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@benstokes38</a> is not only a match winner but also a genuine leader. Congrats Team England for creating a history <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WhiteWash?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WhiteWash</a> Pakistan in their own backyard. You guys were to Hot. Pakistan totally clueless <a href="https://twitter.com/Bazmccullum?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Bazmccullum</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/ECB_cricket?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ECB_cricket</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PAKvsENG?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PAKvsENG</a> <a href="https://t.co/ZY0dWdpAAr">pic.twitter.com/ZY0dWdpAAr</a></p>— Waqar Younis (@waqyounis99) <a href="https://twitter.com/waqyounis99/status/1605109867454267392?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 20, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[Cover Drive Six]

Joe Root won just 1 out of his last 10 Tests as captain, Ben Stokes has won 9 out of his last 10 Tests as captain.

 

[MenInG]

Ben Stokes-led England thrashed Babar Azam's Pakistan in the third and final Test of the bilateral series to revive their campaign in the second edition of the ICC World Test Championship. Completing a historic series whitewash of Pakistan on Tuesday, the Stokes-led England side hammered the crestfallen hosts by 8 wickets to register their third successive win over Babar and Co. at the Karachi National Stadium. Interestingly, England skipper Stokes has equalled former Indian skipper Virat Kohli's spectacular feat following his side's convincing win over Pakistan in the 3rd Test match.

Stokes became the seventh captain to secure nine Test wins in a calendar year after England hammered Pakistan on Tuesday. The Englishman has won 9 Tests and recorded a single defeat as England's captain in the 2022 season. India's most successful Test captain, batting icon Kohli won 9 matches as the leader of the Indian Test side in 2016. Kohli-led Team India remained undefeated in the 2016 season. Former skippers Graeme Smith, Ricky Ponting, Michael Vaughan, Steve Waugh and Clive Lloyd have also secured nine Test wins each in a calendar year.

https://www.hindustantimes.com/cric...t-championship-2023-2022-101671535336733.html

 

[Forum363]

Joe Root won just 1 out of his last 10 Tests as captain, Ben Stokes has won 9 out of his last 10 Tests as captain.

And yet [MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION] kept commenting on how Root is the best option for captain, England were not losing because of his leadership and that Stokes as captain would be a disaster. Ofcourse he is no where to be seen in this thread to give Stokes the credit he deserves.

Tellingly, the statistic about England taking all the wickets they could shows how these wins are more to do with Stokes' on field leadership rather than simply Baseball.

 

[Forum363]

Those who think he should replace Root are in for a rude awakening. He is done with international cricket. Watch him retire within 12 months - at least from Test cricket - and focus on IPL.

He is tired, his body-language is poor and he is implicitly begging ECB to put him out of his misery.

And 12 months later, it is you who has the rude awakening. We're still waiting to 'watch him retire'. He just won England a t20 World Cup and 9 out of 10 Tests.

Incredible leader and you should at least own up to being so wrong.

 

[ElRaja]

In these Tests, England have taken all 190 of the 190 possible wickets on offer from 19 innings.

absolutely staggering stat.

 

[James]

Those who think he should replace Root are in for a rude awakening. He is done with international cricket. Watch him retire within 12 months - at least from Test cricket - and focus on IPL.

He is tired, his body-language is poor and he is implicitly begging ECB to put him out of his misery.

You have made some good predictions in the past, but this was not exactly one of your best.

 

[MenInG]

The player defined the year of Test cricket more than any other in 2022 and is the clear and deserving winner of the ICC Men’s Test Cricketer of the Year award.

Ben Stokes - England

870 runs at an average of 36.25 and 26 wickets at an average of 31.19

 

[Markhor]

Stokes should've won the award not Babar. I get he didn't play ODIs.

However he's totally transformed England's Test team and once again made a pivotal contribution in a World Cup final. Instead they gave it to the soft statpadder to placate desi cricket audience.

 

[MenInG]

Nasser Hussain says Ben Stokes is the "final piece to the jigsaw" as the England Test captain continues to be linked with a potential return to the one-day team.

Stokes announced his retirement from ODI cricket last July, saying continuing in all three formats of the game was "unsustainable" and citing the strain that a packed schedule had been having on his body.

England recently suffered a 2-1 series defeat to South Africa on the back of a 3-0 whitewash in Australia, albeit that series immediately followed their T20 World Cup triumph. The world champions also previously went down to a 2-1 loss to India as well as drawing 1-1 in a rain-stricken series against South Africa.

"When do you ask him the question? Now? But all he'll say is 'I'm retired'," said former England captain Nasser Hussain. "Ben Stokes at the moment is officially retired.

"All these bits of the jigsaw have to fit in, he is the final bit because he is that match winner under pressure.

"Look what India have done, India have gone unbeaten at home for about three years now in white-ball cricket, but in tournament play, at just the wrong time in a knockout game, they can't get over the line.

"England when they get to those crucial moments in any format, there is one individual that stands up. He is the final bit of the jigsaw."

Stokes retired from the white-ball format with a 39.44 batting average and 74 wickets in 104 ODIs, having famously starred with a defining knock of 84 during England's dramatic World Cup final victory over New Zealand in 2019.

et last summer under new captain Ben Stokes and new head coach Brendon McCullum as the pair led the side to six wins out of seven.
England's defence of their crown in India comes in the same year that will also see the Ashes return to home soil as Brendon McCullum looks to lead a stern response to Australia's 4-0 series win in 2021.

Stokes is also due to compete in the Indian Premier League, with the busy calendar he had previously alluded to presenting itself once again.

"I think just after England win the Ashes this summer, I'd be ringing Ben up and saying 'do you fancy making it a World T20 win, an Ashes win and a World Cup win in the space of a year?'," added Hussain. "When he's absolutely at his highest, loving life and loving the game, 'Ben, do you want to take it one-step further?'.

"We joke but I think deep down he knows he's got that trump card if he needs it.

"Ben is the sort of bloke that will say 'this is unfair', he quite likes fairness and may say 'sorry this is unfair'. I don't think he will because it's a World Cup and also again the reason I ask again is he's got New Zealand, he's got the IPL, he's got the Ashes, so it's just looking after people as well because there are two major things on the horizon.

"McCullum and Stokes will be knocking at [ECB managing director] Rob Key's door saying 'I want all the players fit for the Ashes and I want (Jofra) Archer'; Butler and Mott will be knocking at Key's door saying 'I want all the players fit for the World Cup and I want Archer'.

Jofra Archer inspired England to a win over South Africa with six wickets in just his second international match since returning from injury.
"And in between you've got the IPL as well, so it's managing everyone to make sure the captains and the coaches get what they want.

"It's not an easy thing to do because they're both equally important. The old days of the Ashes being important and the World Cup being an afterthought are gone, they are both equally important and there are a lot of players involved in both formats."

Michael Atherton believes any prospective return will come on Stokes' terms as opposed to any efforts from Jos Buttler or Matthew Mott to influence a return.

Matthew Mott says England want to become the greatest white-ball side ever after winning the T20 World Cup in Melbourne.
"He's going to ring," Atherton said.

"What did he do when he wanted the vice-captaincy? He rang Tom Harrison sitting in his garage one day and said 'I want to be vice-captain again'.

"When Joe (Root) finally stepped down he rang Rob Key and said 'I want to be captain'. If he's going to come back he'll make the decision and he'll ring them and say 'I'm unretired'."

SKY

 

[jnaveen1980]

Definitely Stokes stood up for ENgland more than once. Pressure match player. Without him they probably would not have any of the world cup even with their gung ho approach. Will he change his decision? Even within England side Stokes stands out when it comes to pressure situations.

 

[Ab Fan]

England doing great under his captaincy..

 

[happydavy]

Once in a generation player in true sense..champion match winner and now building his legacy as a captain...there's a special place amongst fans for cricketers who come and turn the tables on conventions, Strokes is one such player just like how there were Jayasurya, Shane Warne, Eoin Morgan etc

 

[Robert]

Ten wins out of eleven for Stokes.

 

[Ab Fan]

The great all rounders trio of this era:-

Stokes, Shakib and Jadeja

 

[James]

England are playing with an identity under Ben’s captaincy.

The approach itself is not everyone’s cup of tea, and there is frankly a lot of nonsense that gets spoken about it; but, like or dislike it, it can’t be denied that this team is being coached led in a particular way with clear parameters and objectives. That’s very important in Test cricket.

Too many sides (including some past England sides) turn up for Test matches without a clear collective direction and from the start are essentially hoping for their best individual player(s) to produce something magical and open the game up.

In contrast when this England team takes the field or goes out to bat, it’s palpable that they are all bought in to the ideas of Ben Stokes (and Brendon McCullum) — so it’s no coincidence that England are winning Test matches usually with almost all of the XI contributing in some way, whether it’s runs, wickets, fielding, catches, etc.

Apart from Harry Brook, these are just the same players that Joe Root had. The difference is that the team lacked identity under Root’s captaincy. Unless Root scored a hundred or Stokes had one of his clutch all round performances, they hardly ever won.

Whereas under the leadership and philosophy of Stokes, this team has well and truly become greater than the sum of its limited parts. The W/L ratio up to now might be one of the best ever seen.

 

[Forum363]

[MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION] still waiting for you to address your comments that it was a mistake to remove Root as test captain, that removing him would make absolutely no difference to England losing match after match, how stokes is finished as a cricketer because of his dodgy knees and how he’s a quitter.

You put his initial success down to Bairstow’s purple patch. Are you going to put the onus on Brook now? Like all these players were missing under Root.

Even if he quits now, he’s put himself as the best Test captain of the past two decades ahead of the likes of Kohli and Smith.

 

[Mamoon]

[MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION] still waiting for you to address your comments that it was a mistake to remove Root as test captain, that removing him would make absolutely no difference to England losing match after match, how stokes is finished as a cricketer because of his dodgy knees and how he’s a quitter.

You put his initial success down to Bairstow’s purple patch. Are you going to put the onus on Brook now? Like all these players were missing under Root.

Even if he quits now, he’s put himself as the best Test captain of the past two decades ahead of the likes of Kohli and Smith.

Stokes got lucky. He is riding on the coat-tails of McCullum and made to look like a great captain which he is not.

McCullum is a maverick and he can be suicidal at times, we have seen that during his playing career and especially during his captaincy.

To his credit, the non-conventional approach that he has adopted for England is working so far. He has identified that England is not good enough to succeed by batting in an orthodox fashion and he has got them playing ODI cricket which has maximized the strengths of the batsmen that he has at his disposal and also rattled the opposition.

But all this Bazball stuff has nothing to do with Stokes. This could have been anyone else including Root. This is all down to McCullum.

Stokes’ on-field decisions have been average at best but winning makes everything look good, and England are winning because of McCullum not Stokes.

For example, enforcing follow-on was a really bad call. It almost cost England the match and he ran his bowlers into the ground, most of whom are not spring chickens.

Root was hounded out of captaincy but the real problem was that England were trying to play orthodox Test cricket when they were not good enough to play orthodox Test cricket.

Apart from Root and to an extent Pope, they did not have any batsmen at the time who could play classical Test knocks.

If Root was retained as captain and McCullum was brought in as coach, England would still be playing this Bazball stuff and everyone is saying Root got lucky.

However, since Root was replaced as well and they had a new coach and captain at the helm, it created this illusion that the captain (Stokes), had a lot to do with England changing their playing style but in reality, he did not.

Stokes is doing nothing except piggybacking McCullum and taking credit for his success. This is what you, [MENTION=53290]Markhor[/MENTION] and [MENTION=7774]Robert[/MENTION] fail to understand.

 

[Robert]

Stokes got lucky. He is riding on the coat-tails of McCullum and made to look like a great captain which he is not.

McCullum is a maverick and he can be suicidal at times, we have seen that during his playing career and especially during his captaincy.

To his credit, the non-conventional approach that he has adopted for England is working so far. He has identified that England is not good enough to succeed by batting in an orthodox fashion and he has got them playing ODI cricket which has maximized the strengths of the batsmen that he has at his disposal and also rattled the opposition.

But all this Bazball stuff has nothing to do with Stokes. This could have been anyone else including Root. This is all down to McCullum.

Stokes’ on-field decisions have been average at best but winning makes everything look good, and England are winning because of McCullum not Stokes.

For example, enforcing follow-on was a really bad call. It almost cost England the match and he ran his bowlers into the ground, most of whom are not spring chickens.

Root was hounded out of captaincy but the real problem was that England were trying to play orthodox Test cricket when they were not good enough to play orthodox Test cricket.

Apart from Root and to an extent Pope, they did not have any batsmen at the time who could play classical Test knocks.

If Root was retained as captain and McCullum was brought in as coach, England would still be playing this Bazball stuff and everyone is saying Root got lucky.

However, since Root was replaced as well and they had a new coach and captain at the helm, it created this illusion that the captain (Stokes), had a lot to do with England changing their playing style but in reality, he did not.

Stokes is doing nothing except piggybacking McCullum and taking credit for his success. This is what you, [MENTION=53290]Markhor[/MENTION] and [MENTION=7774]Robert[/MENTION] fail to understand.

Yeah, we do. Because it isn’t correct.

Firstly the England batting unit is different now. Out went the weak top order, in came Duckett and Pope scoring heavily at #3.

Secondly you yourself laud Brook. Clearly a genius.

Thirdly Stokes has a much better understanding of his bowlers than Root, being one himself.

Fourthly BMac and Stokes are clearly kindred spirits with closely aligned ideas of how to play and radiating positivity. All the players say this.

Fifthly, Root doesn’t play Bazball. He carries on batting at 60/100 which is KP speed anyway.

Sixthly Stokes has an excellent keeper in Foakes, the best England have had in decades, adding another dimension.

 

[shaz619]

Stokes got lucky. He is riding on the coat-tails of McCullum and made to look like a great captain which he is not.

McCullum is a maverick and he can be suicidal at times, we have seen that during his playing career and especially during his captaincy.

To his credit, the non-conventional approach that he has adopted for England is working so far. He has identified that England is not good enough to succeed by batting in an orthodox fashion and he has got them playing ODI cricket which has maximized the strengths of the batsmen that he has at his disposal and also rattled the opposition.

But all this Bazball stuff has nothing to do with Stokes. This could have been anyone else including Root. This is all down to McCullum.

Stokes’ on-field decisions have been average at best but winning makes everything look good, and England are winning because of McCullum not Stokes.

For example, enforcing follow-on was a really bad call. It almost cost England the match and he ran his bowlers into the ground, most of whom are not spring chickens.

Root was hounded out of captaincy but the real problem was that England were trying to play orthodox Test cricket when they were not good enough to play orthodox Test cricket.

Apart from Root and to an extent Pope, they did not have any batsmen at the time who could play classical Test knocks.

If Root was retained as captain and McCullum was brought in as coach, England would still be playing this Bazball stuff and everyone is saying Root got lucky.

However, since Root was replaced as well and they had a new coach and captain at the helm, it created this illusion that the captain (Stokes), had a lot to do with England changing their playing style but in reality, he did not.

Stokes is doing nothing except piggybacking McCullum and taking credit for his success. This is what you, [MENTION=53290]Markhor[/MENTION] and [MENTION=7774]Robert[/MENTION] fail to understand.

You are right about Brendan’s influence clearly but you are underestimating Stokes as an inspirational figure in the dressing room, the players are clearly galvanised under him, cricket is both tactical and mental, the latter is given some serious attention in Woolmer’s encyclopaedia on cricket. Stokes has played some of the most iconic knocks this century and the players believe that under him, nothing is impossible, they have that license. Also, Brendon wouldn’t have thrived with his philosophy alongside a captain such as Rooty, Brendon and Stokes both share similar views and have a similar mentality, that doesn’t hurt when executing plans.

 

[James]

Baz has had a huge impact on the England dressing room no doubt, but I would recommend anyone who is unsure of Ben Stokes and his skill as a captain — get a ticket for England this summer and watch him lead them in the field. He has a genuine aura about him, is in total command, and his field placings are both innovative and excellent. Sometimes on TV with limited camera angles it’s difficult to see just how much a cricket captain has to do all of the time. (and how much a good one does do.)

 

[shaz619]

Baz has had a huge impact on the England dressing room no doubt, but I would recommend anyone who is unsure of Ben Stokes and his skill as a captain — get a ticket for England this summer and watch him lead them in the field. He has a genuine aura about him, is in total command, and his field placings are both innovative and excellent. Sometimes on TV with limited camera angles it’s difficult to see just how much a cricket captain has to do all of the time. (and how much a good one does do.)

Hoping to get tickets for the Edgbaston Test!