Ben Stokes has soared the heights and plunged the depths. At his peak, a cricketing Moses parting the seas and dispensing miracles, Stokes also revealed a fragile phase when depression nearly closed the walls on him. He took a break, recovered and remains a vital cog in England’s Twenty20 set-up under skipper Jos Buttler.
Leading England in Tests, Stokes is equally comfortable playing under Buttler in white-ball cricket, specifically T20Is, as he has retired from ODIs. In a chat with the media at the Adelaide Oval here on Tuesday, the all-rounder praised Buttler: “He is in charge, everyone in the team follows him. The captain has got to take his decisions, and as a man, you also have to get the entire dressing room to follow you. He has been able to do that. We managed to get through not playing our best cricket so far. I mean every game wasn’t our game, but we are here, and we just need to play.”
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Having shepherded a tricky chase against Sri Lanka in a previous clash vital to England’s qualification for the ICC T20 World Cup semifinals, Stokes said: “I just did what I had to do and it is the hardest to be there at the end, it wasn’t too much of an ask, so yeah it was all about staying there and being there till the end.”
Stopping SKY
Reverting to Thursday’s semifinal against India, Stokes said: “Two more games now, hopefully, be a part of them and hopefully (get) the trophy. To get this game done on Thursday against a very strong Indian team, no one can take them lightly, (considering) the squad that they are and the players that they have. I mean, we need to focus more on ourselves.”
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The old trope of England bowlers against Indian batters was raised, and Stokes spoke candidly about the rival willow-wielders. “Suryakumar (Yadav) is fantastic; he plays some shots which leave you scratching your head. He is in great form, and I guess we should tie him down and not allow him to get on a rampage,” Stokes said. He also supported Rohit Sharma, who isn’t at his best: “Rohit is one of the great players of your era, he is a world-class player, and you can’t take him for granted, especially in these big games.”
Earned the right
Like Stokes, Kohli too had spoken about the shadows of the mind, and the England star was asked to review the Indian batter’s current form. “Yeah, like me, he too didn’t have a few loud months, but he has earned the right to be around. Earlier, he had produced the numbers, and now he has got the runs and is looking good,” Stokes said. And as for his camp, Stokes didn’t want to commit to Dawid Malan’s fitness as the latter is recovering from a groin injury suffered in the contest against Sri Lanka. Malan may be a doubtful starter, but Stokes and his other mates await the Men in Blue.
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