THERE IS SOMETHING about England and all-rounders. Ben Stokes, the expressive, pace bowling all-rounder is the latest star in the list of English players who have been key to the team’s balance and fortune. With the World Cup and Ashes this year, 2019 could be the year in which Stokes surpasses the likes of Ian Botham and Andrew Flintoff, having already established himself as a fearless match-winner with both the ball and bat. Flintoff has even
predicted that Stokes “could steal the show for England this summer”.
England has a lot to prove this year—the Australians handed the team a 4-0 drubbing in the last Ashes series in 2017. More importantly, the team is still in search of its maiden World Cup title. With being the host and the number-one ranked ODI team comes the weight of expectation.
As for Stokes, he has had his own demons to defeat. In the 2016 ICC World Twenty20 championship final, Carlos Brathwaite of the West Indies smashed Stokes all over the park and romped to victory. Then there was the infamous Bristol club brawl, which saw him miss the Ashes the following year. Since then, Stokes has emerged better and stronger, thriving under the leadership of ODI captain Eoin Morgan. He is a threat with the ball and can bat anywhere his captain wants him to. This gives Morgan the option to add an extra specialist bowler. His natural exuberance lifts the team, which has reinvented itself under Morgan to become the most potent ODI team.
Stokes is an IPL millionaire too, appearing for the Rajasthan Royals in the 2018 and 2019 editions. His England colleagues Jos Buttler, Jonny Bairstow and Jofra Archer were standout performers this year, but Stokes and Royals were below par. Yet, he goes into the World Cup upbeat. Speaking to THE WEEK, Stokes lauded Morgan’s leadership. On a personal note, Stokes added that coach Trevor Bayliss had a calming influence on him. He believes that Virat Kohli the captain is easier to unsettle than Kohli the batsman. Excerpts:
The IPL was different and the conditions tougher than back home. Tell us about the experience.
Yeah, it is a brilliant competition. It is a great place to learn and expand your game. It is a lot different to what we are used to. You spend a lot of time with the boys and we have a great team room, which is almost like an extension of your bedroom. It is a great team environment with the Rajasthan Royals when we are not training or playing a match.
England players have had a successful IPL. How important has this been going into the World Cup?
I think different people have different thoughts on form and stuff like that. I just try to take each game as it comes. If you are in good form, you do not try and get too arrogant about it. Performances come and go. I try not to live off my last performance. I just stay in the moment.
The Ashes is still some time away. But you shared the IPL dressing room with Steve Smith. How was it to have him back in the field?
Steve and I were together in the Rising Pune Supergiant IPL team, too. He just came in and played well. There is no baggage attached. You take the person for how they are with you or how they are around the group. Steve’s a really good guy. That is how you treat him—how he is as a person.
England played Pakistan in an ODI series a few weeks ago. Were there any worries about the workload just before the World Cup?
There has been no problem regarding workload. We probably play 10 months of cricket. We just try and manage the workload, doing things at the right time. No one knows your body better than yourself, so if you do not want to train, just keep an open mind. You do not want a niggle when you push yourself in training or try to be clever.
Is there a lot of pressure on the home team to win its maiden World Cup?
I think there is always pressure on a home team. I just want the whole thing to get started because so much has been spoken about it. The excitement is already there. Once it starts, the thought of winning games will be on the forefront of the mind, rather than thinking about us having the home advantage, or being favourites or world number one.
What makes this England team so different from its predecessors that they are being tagged as favourites?
I think every team is bound to be different [from its predecessors]. It is after four years, so people come and go. Yes, we have been very successful as a team in the last three years, so hopefully the form that we have can continue in the World Cup.
What are your thoughts on Morgan as skipper? England has played a different brand of cricket under him.
I think Eoin is absolutely brilliant as a leader. He keeps things simple, to which players probably respond best. We actually do not have too many team meetings. We do not really speak much about ourselves, other than what we need to do to be successful.
Who is that key person in the England setup who has brought the best out of you?
Trevor Bayliss has been monumental in terms of the way we have managed to turn our white ball cricket around. He has let Morgan be on the forefront of pretty much everything. This is a massive change from before, when there was probably not that much freedom for a captain to express himself. Trevor has no ego, does not want to be in the spotlight, does not want to take all the credit—he is possibly the best thing to happen to our white ball cricket.
Leg spinners are a must for every team these days. As a batsman, which leggie is most difficult to play?
Rashid Khan, without doubt.
Is Virat Kohli the batsman or the captain more vulnerable?
Virat Kohli the captain, because his batting is phenomenal!
