PAK vs ENG: The Importance Of Ben Stokes To This Project, It's A Bit Like Virat Kohli In India – Ex-England Captain Michael Atherton
Published - 30 Nov 2022, 05:13 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:15 AM
Former England National Cricket Team skipper Michael Atherton, who led the English team in 54 Tests and 43 ODIs, has stated that the presence of all-rounder Ben Stokes in the England setup is equivalent to what Virat Kohli is for India National Cricket Team.
Ben Stokes, who replaced Joe Root as Test captain earlier this year following a poor run of the team for a long period, has led the Three Lions to 6 victories in 7 Tests so far. Under Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum, England have adopted a new “Bazball” approach, which points to the aggressive and entertaining brand of cricket.
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Speaking to Sky Sports, the 54-year-old Atherton said that having a player of Stokes’ stature and charisma, who still values Test cricket, in the team is a pretty big thing. He also opined that the England red-ball captain played a key role in convincing the 29-year-old batting all-rounder Liam Livingstone to play Test cricket. He elaborated:
“The importance of Stokes to this project, it’s a bit like Virat Kohli in India. Kohli is the most important cricketer in India, and therefore probably the world, and he was very much: ‘I still think Test cricket is a worthwhile thing to be involved in’, and therefore young players followed that.
“Stokes saying to Livingstone: ‘Forget the Big Bash and the £150,000, come and play Test cricket for us in Pakistan’. He’s a very hard man to say no to is Ben Stokes. So having a player of that stature, charisma and importance, that still values the five-day game, is a big thing.”
Notably, Livingstone is all set to make his Test debut for England in the series against Pakistan as he has already been named in the playing XI for the first Test. The decision to include him in the playing XI has been made because of his ability to bowl both wrist and finger spin.
If I was giving any kind of advice to any young player, you’re only going to be judged on the runs – Nasser Hussain
Michael Atherton’s fellow countryman Nasser Hussain stated that he would advise the young players to focus only on scoring runs rather than focusing on a certain style of play. He said:
“If I was giving any kind of advice to any young player, you’re only going to be judged on the runs. Not the way you play, however much Stokes and McCullum say: ‘We want these type of players’. If you get runs, Alastair Cook-type players can still play in this side because they got the runs. So go and get it, that is still the currency to stay in the side.”
The first Test match of the England tour of Pakistan 2022 will be played from December 1 to 5 in Rawalpindi. Then, the action will move to Multan (December 9 to 13) and Karachi (December 17 to 21) for the last two games.
