ROOT: AT LAST ENGLAND ARE ALL STOKED UP
Skipper delighted to have England’s talisman back in the fold as it gives him the balance he missed during Ashes loss
JOE ROOT is confident he can shape a winning England Test team the way he wants to now Ben Stokes is back to fire on three fronts.
It may have been a touch of hyperbole from Root when he described Stokes as the team’s best batsman, bowler and fielder, but the enthusiasm is understandable.
The absence of his talisman all-rounder in the Ashes hurt Root’s side in many more ways than just on the field and the skipper had every right to feel let down by his one-time vice-captain.
But with perhaps a gentler Ben back in the fold, Root is hoping to celebrate a first full year in the job with two series wins out of four and some momentum for the summer.
“It is a huge boost to have Ben coming back into the team,” said Root, who expects Stokes to play a full part with the ball after facing him in the Auckland nets. “It gives us a really good balance.
“With the amount of injuries and Ben not in the Ashes, it has restricted a little bit how I wanted to do things. This is the first opportunity I’ve had to shape it away from home, but this is about us winning not my stamp on things.
“Ben’s been an instrumental part of our team for a while, hasn’t he? You get three players with Ben and on his day probably the best three players within the side all in one.
“It is great to see him back playing and I’m sure he’s desperate to get out in whites and get everyone talking about his cricket again.
“He is such a good character around the dressing-room. When he speaks about the game, he gets everyone’s attention and people listen. He’s very focused on what he needs to do. Credit to him, he’s been able to manage that really well.”
Stokes’ energy and passion is something the team sorely missed in Australia. Someone who is always looking to take a forward step towards the opposition.
It is part of the reason why he has been fighting with a stiff back from the one-day series, where he was so keen to get involved and win games for England again.
And Root admitted he might have a job to do as skipper to make sure that Stokes doesn’t strain himself too much trying to make up for lost time.
“You have to try to manage him,” agreed Root. “But there’s only so much you can stop him doing.
“He’s just desperate to play. He’s just so excited and you don’t want to take that out of him.
“There is a natural leader in Ben and I think it is certainly a big addition to our dressing room having him back and if he can drag players along with him, then brilliant.”