The opening Test of the upcoming three-match Test series between England and West Indies will see an enthralling battle between the world’s two best all-rounders Ben Stokes and Jason Holder – both will be captaining their respective countries in Southampton.
Currently, Windies captain Holder is the top-ranked all-rounder in Test cricket with 473 points while the fellow all-rounder Stokes (407 points) is in second place with the upcoming Test series pitting the world’s best two all-rounders into battle for the top spot at the rankings.
Stokes, who is set to lead England for the first time in the absence of Joe Root in the first Test starting on July 8, Wednesday, at The Ages Bowl, is hoping to replace Holder and become the first Englishman to top the all-rounder rankings since Andrew Flintoff in 2006 in the upcoming home Test series.
Well, West Indies head coach Phil Simmons also admitted that the first Test is going to be a toss-up between the two top all-rounder captains, but hopes his skipper Holder to "get on top" of his England counterpart Stokes in Southampton.
Simmons told reporters on the eve of the first Test: “I think that it's going to be a toss-up between these two all-rounders and hopefully Jason can do what's necessary to get on top of Ben in this first Test.”
The 57-year-old further added, “Ben is one of them who leads from the front. That's been shown by all his exploits before in cricket, (so) we will have to make sure that we get on to him very early because he likes to do what is necessary for his team.”
On the benefits of Root's absence in Southampton, the Windies coach said: “You have to be careful about how you use an advantage because, with Root not being there, you have some youngster who wants to make a name for himself. And sometimes that's even harder than the players you know, so you have to be very careful about saying that it's an advantage.”
Meanwhile, former West Indian batsman doesn’t think the lack of captaincy experience will be an issue for Stokes with veterans James Anderson and Stuart Broad around there.
Simmons further noted, “Ben has not had that time (as captain) but they've had a successful team for a while, and that helps. With the experience that he has behind him - Jimmy (Anderson) and Broad and people like that, there's a lot of experience to help him on the field if he comes a cropper. But it's hard to really say if that's a big advantage.”
The West Indian coach also insisted that he is not worried about his team’s batting that's a cause of concern for the tourists since they have prepared well for the England Tests and now everything will just depend on the mindset.
He signed off by saying, “I'm not concerned about the batting. The batsmen have worked very hard on getting to where they are now, and all that it takes now is for their mindset to be right for the Test match. We keep talking about the batting, and the bowling has been strong, but we must field well and catch well also to give ourselves that chance. Our frame of mind is that we have to play well in all three facets of the game in order to beat England.”
(With PTI Inputs)
