Stokes has changed the fortunes of the England Test team since taking over as the captain.
So far, Stokes has led England to 14 victories in 20 Tests, which includes wins over New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan and Australia.
On Sunday (January 30), England pulled an incredible 28-run victory from the jaws of defeat in the opening Test against India in Hyderabad.
Beating India in India is considered as one of the toughest challenges in Test cricket and Stokes has received a lot of credit for his inspirational leadership. The captain, however, revealed that he never aspired to be a leader.
“It’s something I never had any aspirations to do or really thought about too much, to be honest. I never really had too much responsibility around captaining or anything, either in age-group cricket or any other level. I had a little taste of it with the Durham Academy. This opportunity presented itself to me and it was something I couldn’t turn down,” Stokes said on ‘Inside-Out with Ben Stokes’ on JioCinema.
“It’s a role I’ve grown into, it’s a role that I’ve really enjoyed. I love everything that comes with it, the responsibility of looking after people from different types of angles. Whether it be out in the field or away from the field. Understanding different individuals and personalities, because in a team sport, you’ve got a lot of people and not everyone is the same. That’s helped me mature as a person. Just really enjoying the responsibility of driving something forward.”
Despite the unprecedented success, Ben Stokes said that the English team, especially head coach Brendon McCullum, is not very fond of the phrase called Bazball.
“It’s a phrase that was created by the media. Something that we try and stay away from. It just came from what we have managed to do over the last two years and how we’ve played. We don’t necessarily like it, Baz hates it! Whenever that word pops up, we just try to say that’s how England plays Test cricket,” Stokes stated.
The England captain also expressed his love for the Test format, calling it the “pinnacle of cricket”.
“I’m from that mould of cricketers who have fortunately been able to go through the transition of where cricket is. Test cricket, in particular, is where it’s all up for me. It’s my favourite format. Part of that is because of how much hard work you have to put into it to come out a winner. When Test matches go five days and you’re sitting in the changing room after winning that game, there’s nothing more satisfying than looking back on the five days and how much hard work you’ve had to put in to get that moment,” Stokes said.
“That’s no disrespect to the other formats, but five days of hard work, the stuff you put your body through, and what the other guys in the field put their bodies through to hopefully make the team come out on the winning side is something the other formats don’t give you. Test cricket for me, is the pinnacle of cricket, regardless of where cricket has transitioned to.”
England went with three spinners in the Hyderabad Test, including two rookies in Rehan Ahmed and Tom Hartley. However, the brave decision proved to be the right one for the tourists as Hartley returned with nine scalps in the game, including a seven-wicket haul in India’s second innings.
Talking about his philosophy with newcomers, Stokes said: “I think sometimes inexperience can be looked at into a bit too much. There’s no doubt that experience makes players feel more comfortable and settled, especially in this environment. But the spinners we’ve selected on this tour are ones we think will give us the best opportunity to beat India.”
“For me, it’s not just about the spinners but understanding the talent they have and allowing them to go out there and express that talent and giving them the platform and the best possible opportunity to not worry about the outcome too much and focus on what cricket actually is. As a bowler, your job is to think about taking wickets. As a batsman, it’s about going out there and scoring runs. Anything more than that is overcomplicating it. I’m just taking away that fear and anxiety around the outcome,” he further remarked.