Root happy to rely on old friend Stokes
LEEDS, United Kingdom: When Joe Root leads England out for the first time as Test captain he will be able to turn to a familiar face in Ben Stokes.
Yorkshire batsman Root first came across Stokes in an Under-12s tournament when the all-rounder was representing Cumbria. Stokes may have had to move to nearby Durham in order to pursue a first-class cricket career, but Root reckons many of the fiery all-rounder’s enduring traits as a player were on show from an early age.
And knowing him as well as he does, Root was happy to nominate Stokes as his vice-captain after he himself accepted the top job last weekend following the resignation as Test skipper of Alastair Cook.
England and Wales Cricket board director Andrew Strauss, himself a former England captain, was of the same opinion as the leadership of the side moved decisively to a younger generation ahead of the teams next Test, against South Africa at Lord’s in July. Recalling his first impression of Stokes, 26-year-old Root, not bothering to suppress a grin, said: “He was a little podgy mediumpacer back then.
He’s obviously a slightly different player right now,” added Root, speaking at his Headingley home ground.
“But he was always in your face, letting you know he was there — and that was great to play against.
“We get on well outside of cricket as well. When we bat together we have a good understanding, and it will be exactly the same in these new roles.”
Root has had a close-up view of Stokes’s skill on the Test stage, be it his blistering double century against South Africa in Cape Town last year or .his five-wicket haul in England’s 2015 Ashes-clinching victory at Trent Bridge, a match destined to be remembered for Stuart Broad’s remarkable eight for 15 on the first day.
“He’s very ‘in your face’, and sometimes you need that up-front brashness,” said Root of Stokes.
“That second-innings display from Ben — the ‘five-for’, the skill he showed — I am sure in any other Test match he would have got man-of-the-match,” added Root, modestly omitting his century in the same match. “Then, the way he played in South Africa was just incredible — and he is that sort of player that with the odd moment in the field can really change a game, turn it on its head.”
Cook said one reason why he was able to lead England in a record 59 Tests was to avoid social media, thereby remaining ignorant of the more extreme criticism that came his way.