Cricket News

‘Have to give credit to the side for implementing a different approach smoothly’ – Ben Stokes on England adapting easily to Bazball

The England squad led by Ben Stokes have made it a habit of finishing Test matches quickly. The White Tigers bulldozed South Africa by nine wickets in the third Test, which saw another early finish in the series. The English team’s new chapter in Test cricket continued with a 2-1 series victory, making it six wins out of seven Tests this summer.

Stokes praised his teammates, especially former English skipper Joe Root, for their efforts during the changing phase of England’s red ball cricket. The maverick English all-rounder has taken to Brendon McCullum’s philosophy like peas in a pod. The recently concluded South Africa series was supposed to be their biggest threat and after receiving a battering at the hands of the Proteas in the first Test, it was interesting to see how they would come back in the series. As it turned out, England went on to win the series 2-1.

The current England Test skipper showed his gratitude towards former captain Joe Root, who chiseled the players for a long time during his reign as captain. He also lauded his teammates, who embraced the philosophy that he and the recently appointed head coach Brendon McCullum are trying to infuse.

“Joe has got to take a lot of credit for captaining the side for six years in the way he did. To then buy into something that was completely different to how Joe wanted to operate, everyone has really brought into it. I have been very thankful that I have had a group of lads who have brought into and understood the bigger picture of what I and Baz are trying to achieve,” Stokes said to the press after the third Test.

Stokes shed light on how they used positive energy and intent and how they drew inspiration from an icon like the Queen to get a winning result in less than 3 days which also bought England together as a nation during the time of crisis.

“There is a reason we have been able to go out and perform and have the confidence in each other to go and do that. That is very rare. With this game being shortened, our main aim was to make sure it ended in a result. We felt we owed it to ourselves, we owed it to the nation who have shown support throughout this whole summer. We will always continue to play in a way that is going to entertain people and always look at the positive side of cricket,” he added.