AUS vs ENG: "Ben Stokes Had To Change Not Just The Culture, But The Results": Nasser Hussain Lauds His Captaincy

Former England skipper Nasser Hussain has lauded Ben Stokes for changing the culture and the results of the England Test team since taking over the captaincy from Joe Root. This is Stokes’ first Ashes series as captain and he is on the verge of earning a well-earned draw if England wins the fifth Test.

England have named an unchanged squad for the fifth Test. James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Mark Wood, and Chris Woakes are the four pacers along with Moeen Ali the specialist spinner.

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England have won 11 out of 13 Tests since Stokes became Test captain and Nasser Hussain has lauded the all-rounder for the same. In his column for Daily Mail, Hussain has praised Ben Stokes for changing the culture and the results for England in Test cricket.

“Ben Stokes faced another kind of challenge — England were a likeable team under Joe Root and Chris Silverwood, but they went into a downward spiral. Stokes had to come in and change not just the culture, but the results,” said Hussain.

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Ben Stokes Has Been True To His Word: Nasser Hussain

Hussain further praised Stokes for playing an aggressive brand of cricket all the time thereby sticking to what he said about playing “Bazball”.

“And he has done that very well: 12 wins out of 17, with a rainy draw that would probably have been another win, and margins of defeat that include one run and two wickets. And Stokes has been true to his word, because England have continued to attack,” Hussain added.

England were trailing 1-23 against India and then lost the Ashes series to Australia 4-0 in the 2021-2 season. They came to their lowest loss to West Indies in early 2022, resulting in the management replacing Joe Root with Stokes as captain.

Since taking over, Stokes has led England to series wins against New Zealand, and South Africa at home. He won a Test series 3-0 against Pakistan in Pakistan followed by a 1-1 draw against New Zealand earlier this year.

Having lost the first two Tests, England did very well to come back and win the Headingley Test. England were well placed to win the fourth Test in Manchester had rain not intervened. If they win the fifth Test at The Oval, it will be a well-deserved draw for the Ben Stokes-led side.

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