England's middle-order batsman Ollie Pope has heaped praise on the star all-rounder Ben Stokes, labeling him the world’s current best cricketer at the moment while saying he will be a “massive miss” in the remainder of the ongoing home Test series against Pakistan.
Stokes has pulled out of the next two Tests due to family reasons and Pope stressed that it is important for the Test vice-captain to be with his family, there are bigger things than cricket ahead of the second Test starting on Thursday at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton.
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Hailing Stokes as a game-changer, Pope further noted that the ace cricketer’s aura on the field influences games, but said the hosts can’t reliant on one player, as he asked all players to step up to the mark in the latter’s absence in the upcoming two Test matches against Pakistan.
Pope wrote for Sky Sports: “There are bigger things than cricket and it is important that Ben Stokes is able to spend time with his family - but he will be a massive miss for us for the rest of the series against Pakistan. He is probably the best cricketer in the world at the moment, a game-changer, and even if he does miss out with bat or ball, his aura on the pitch or slip catching still influences games.”
He further added, “To have him around is awesome but, as we showed in the previous Test, we are not reliant on one player. We have guys who step up to the mark.”
On England’s first Test win over Pakistan, Pope said: “Any Test match victory is special but winning in the fashion we did on Saturday does mean a bit more. I think everyone had written us off on the fourth morning and it then looked a pretty uphill task at 117-5 - if we are being completely honest, our hopes were pretty low. That’s not because we didn’t back our batsmen but purely because of the nature of some of the dismissals and the way the pitch was reacting with inconsistent bounce.”
He signed off by saying, “The way Stokesy got out to one that bounced out of the rough, the way I got out to a ball that reared up and hit me on the wrist.”
(With Sky Sports Inputs)
