Ben wants England gripped by World Cup fever again.. this time for cricket
shock to his team-mates in the sunny Caribbean climate.
“I get a lot of stick, especially from my team-mates, with my attire but they are just boring,” laughed Stokes.
“Fashion is something I always try to have an open mind with.
“So I try to mix it up with different looks as much as I can.”
Stokes, of course, is keen to let his cricket do the talking this year after making the front pages last August, when he was cleared of affray following a high-profile court case in Bristol.
“Expectations will always be high representing your country,” added the 27-year-old.
“It will be amazing to do well this summer and I would love to end it being a World Cup winner and regaining the Ashes.”
■ BEN STOKES was speaking courtesy of 11 Degrees. NEW England supremo Ashley Giles has revealed he set his sights on the top job the day he was fired as coach.
Giles has taken over as director of cricket from Andrew Strauss at a critical time for the game, with a World Cup and Ashes series to come this year.
But with most things already in place for the summer, it means the main item in the former Ashes winner’s in-tray will be appointing a successor to current head coach Trevor Bayliss (right), who leaves in September.
“This is the pinnacle in my area,” said Giles, who was England’s one-day coach for two years until shown the door in 2014.
“I have prepared for this role over the last four years and when I left the coaching job I said at the time this was a goal of mine.
“We all feel hard done by when we leave positions, but it was a learning curve and that period was a catalyst for me to go back to university, study and change paths.
“I certainly don’t think there’s Jan 15: v WI Board XI, Barbados Jan 17: v WI Board XI, Barbados TEST SERIES v WEST INDIES Jan 23: 1st Test, Barbados
Jan 31: 2nd Test, Antigua
Feb 9: 3rd Test, St Lucia 50-OVER WARM-UP
Feb 17: v University of West Indies Vice-Chancellor’s XI, Barbados a need to come in like a bull in a china shop. With Trev leaving that will be front and centre, on everyone’s minds. That will be a thorough process.”
The big question though is whether he will opt for one main coach or split the workload between two, which proved unsuccessful when Giles took charge of the one-day teams and Andy Flower the Test side. Giles has yet to decide, but the smart money would be on one main coach with decent support in each team.
“We’ll look at every option,” he added. “I guess when we first split it, Andy and me, we thought the paths of players might go similarly.
“But players have gone together more and if you have different leaders but the same players in the room, that can have its own challenge.”
With Ben Stokes getting full praise for showing maturity on his return to the fold following his trial, but a frown where football warm-ups are concerned following Jonny Bairstow’s mishap, Giles has some managing to do, and is well placed to do it. Feb 20: 1st ODI, Barbados Feb 22: 2nd ODI, Barbados Feb 25: 3rd ODI, Grenada Feb 27: 4th ODI, Grenada Mar 2: 5th ODI, St Lucia T20s v WEST INDIES Mar 5: 1st T20, St Lucia Mar 8: 2nd T20, St Kitts Mar 10: 3rd T20, St Kitts