Ben Stokes is the heartbeat of the English team, opines Ricky Ponting
Ricky Ponting has stated that Ben Stokes is the go-to player for England in difficult situations and his excellence in all departments will need to be kept quiet by the Aussies for them to have any hope of winning the Ashes. He labeled Stokes as a mature player with a strong personality.
Having attained iconic status in England following his man of the match performance in the final that led his country to its maiden World Cup title, praise for Ben Stokes has been on everyoneās lips. Not only has the 28-year-old developed as a cricketer to emerge as one of the teamās most influential players, but he has also evolved into a responsible person from his brazen younger self.
āIt seems like heās playing with a lot of maturity. He doesnāt seem like heās in much of a rush now as he might have been. The thing about his personality as well, heās a big, strong, brash guy with a bit of an ego ... and I think as a younger person probably everything was flat out - one speed,ā the Hindustan Times reported Ricky Ponting saying to cricket.com.au.
Stokes had to miss the 2017-18 Ashes series after being involved in a bar fight that had him entangled in a consequent court case. However, he has since made amends of the second opportunity he got and come across as a respectful cricketer who knows how to shoulder the team's burden.Ā
āTo me, [during the World Cup] it seems like he able to understand situations and play situations accordingly. Thatās a bit of maturity and understanding his own game and understanding what his team needs him to do,ā Ponting added.
The former test vice-captain scored 465 runs and took seven wickets to lead his team to world glory and will be looking to replicate the form in the longest format of the game. He has 3,000-plus runs and an impressive 137 wickets in 52 test caps to his name.
āHeās a key man and more a key man because I think heās that real heartbeat for their team, a bit like āFreddieā Flintoff in Ashes series gone by - whenever they were in trouble and they needed something, they tend to go to those sort of guys, and Australia need to keep him quiet if weāre going to win the series,ā Ponting said.
The much awaited historic series between arch rivals England and Australia is scheduled to begin from August the third and visitors Australia will be looking to retain the trophy.
āI think itās important that the Australian players donāt let him find (form) early in the series. There are certain players you know that youāve just got to hopefully get on top early. Stokes is one that I think they need to make sure that he doesnāt get away from (them) - and he doesnāt have much of an impact on the series,ā Ponting concluded.
0
0
0
0
0
0
Comments
Sign up or log in to your account to leave comments and reactions
0 Comments