Ben Stokes commended his team for embracing his more aggressive Test style, which has resulted in six wins out of seven this summer, including Monday’s nine-wicket win over South Africa. Ben Stokes is lucky to rely on Anderson and Broad.
After 149 runs at 37.25 and 10 wickets at 15.70, Stokes was named Player of the Series. South Africa’s prospects of defending a score were wrecked on the second full day of the Oval Test.
Since replacing Joe Root at the start of the season, England has won six of seven Tests. Stokes told Sky Sports’ Mark Butcher that his players followed his example this summer.
For Us As A Team, The Series Has Been Fantastic
Stokes: “We’ve had a great series.” “We haven’t really had any standout individual performances, but different players have stepped up when we needed them to,” he said.
“In a team sport, you want to be able to turn to different players at varying periods and hope they can break the program running for you using the ball and bat, and that’s really what we have done this whole series.”
At The Oval, Ollie Robinson won Player of the Match. Stokes had moved Robinson to the new-ball position for his return at Old Trafford. The two players Stokes singled out for the most praise were James Anderson and Stuart Broad.
He established their dominance this summer by taking 27 and 29 wickets, respectively, after being passed over for the Caribbean tour.
We’re really lucky in our nation to have two legendary athletes still competing today, says Stokes. Jimmy has been called old-fashioned at age 40, and I’ve already been called that, but these things keep coming up every day.
Stokes’ Bowler Management Has Defined The Summer
He said, “They leave everything out there.” “They are absolutely incredible. They are a big credit to themselves and this game, and I’m sure that many young cricketers throughout the globe who aspire to be fast bowlers will look up to them,” said one observer.
The success of the summer can be attributed in large part to Stokes’ management of his bowlers. He was not only willing to support them at all times with crowded slip cordons and creative attacking field placements.
But he was also determined to reserve his bowlers’ best shots for crucial moments of play, especially with the new ball. In order to do this, his personal bowling role has focused on creating impact moments, often when the ball is at its oldest.
Despite this, he believed that the compromise he had found was the correct one. When you have bowlers with the skill of Jimmy, Broady, and Robbo, managing them at the beginning of an innings is difficult because the ball is doing the most damage, he said.
You don’t want to exhaust them early, so we try to have one of the opening bowler’s bowl a brief spell before bringing them back with a long spell from one opening bowler. Then, it’s really about inserting myself into the game when the big guys have had a few successful spells.
They have succeeded in doing so throughout the entire series. It’s about knowing when I need to get the most overs out of the three big lads. They have been outstanding in every way.
Finishing Words
Those who criticize our play should do so. Social media is so accessible now. What message are we sending to the next generation if we play a style we believe in and are criticized for it?
We have to perform how we plan, and those who write about the game or analyze how we play should realize they influence future cricketers.
Because what they say about the game might contradict what we say. What’s said in the locker room matters. When things go wrong, our work is criticized, but when they go well, it’s amazing.
