Ben Stokes evaluations the summer season: ‘Biggest’ Joe Root, ‘wonderful’ Gus Atkinson and Ollie Pope’s captaincy | Cricket Information

England red-ball captain Ben Stokes believes no participant has made a much bigger impression than Gus Atkinson has in his first summer season of Check cricket.

Atkinson made his debut at Lord’s in opposition to West Indies in July and instantly made his mark, taking seven wickets for simply 45 runs as Jimmy Anderson’s last hurrah acquired beneath method.

The wickets (and runs) then simply stored coming for the Surrey seamer as he added his identify to the honours boards at Lord’s with a 12-wicket match haul in that Check and adopted up with a five-fer and maiden Check century in opposition to Sri Lanka.

With that latter feat he joined an unique membership as Vinoo Mankad and Ian Botham are the one different gamers to have taken a five-fer and scored a century in the identical Check.

For Stokes, Atkinson has produced the performances that having perception in somebody’s expertise can have.

“He has been amazing. I earmarked him as someone I thought could be successful at Test cricket on the India tour even though he didn’t play a game,” Stokes instructed Sky Sports activities.

“I watched him practice for principally two months which is a tough factor to do as a participant.

“He bowls at a high pace, he is a very skilful bowler and he has shown he has got more than just running in and bowling it fast.

“Seeing him bat earlier than, I knew he had potential, and that 100 he acquired at Lord’s, to say I wasn’t stunned is a little bit of an overstatement, however I’ve all the time identified he has expertise with the bat.

“He has shown the world and himself what he is capable of with bat in his hand.

“In your first summer season in Check cricket, I can not bear in mind there being a much bigger impression. Thirty-something wickets and a Check hundred at Lord’s is fairly wonderful.

“He has been awesome for us. It proves that if you see someone with a bit of talent, with the skillset and armoury he has as a player, and tell them to go out and express themselves and be who they want to be, it is amazing what results you can get from that.”

Root ‘the best ever’

There have additionally been standouts moments from the skilled gamers this summer season, together with Joe Root breaking Alastair Prepare dinner’s document for essentially the most Check centuries for England along with his thirty fourth at Lord’s.

Because the runs and information proceed to pile up for Root, Stokes believes the Yorkshireman is England’s greatest-ever batter.

“He is an amazing player. I don’t think there is much more I can say about him, I have pretty much done all the superlatives with Joe in the 10 or 12 years I have played with him,” mentioned Stokes.

“The thing about Joe is he is so unselfish, he puts the team first in whatever decision-making there is throughout a Test match or even throughout a series.

“He’s simply superior. He’s England’s greatest-ever batter and it’ll be exhausting to search out one other one like him for a really very long time.

“Harry Brook maybe could do what he has done, but what Joe has achieved in the game is absolutely amazing and there is plenty more to come.

“That document of essentially the most Check runs by a participant is getting nearer and nearer.”

Pope has been a constructive captain

With Stokes out injured, Ollie Pope has stepped into the captain’s function for the Sri Lanka sequence, main the facet to 2 victories to go 2-0 up within the sequence, however he has struggled along with his personal batting.

Pope scored simply 12 runs over two innings at Emirates Previous Trafford, then simply 17 runs throughout the 2 innings at Lord’s, failing additionally on his eight events of utilizing DRS as skipper.

Nonetheless, Stokes believes Pope has been a really constructive stand-in captain and famous that individuals have been fast to neglect his triumphs with the bat, the 26-year-old choosing up the player-of-the-match award within the last Check of the West Indies sequence with scores of 121 and 51 within the 241-run win at Trent Bridge.

“I think he [Pope] has been great,” mentioned Stokes. “There is always the potential that something might happen to the captain, I had it with Joe [Root] and Covid when he wasn’t in for the game against West Indies and I stood up for that.

“I feel Popey has achieved an excellent job.

“We are 2-0 up, we have been put under pressure at different times in the series against Sri Lanka and I think the way that Popey has reacted to those situations and wrestled momentum back into the game is something he has done really well.

“He has taken the constructive possibility in the case of any decision-making across the subject and I feel he has achieved very well in his first two video games in cost.

“I think everybody forgot he got two 50s and a 100 against West Indies.”

Coaching is proscribed after hamstring harm

Stokes has not performed within the sequence in opposition to Sri Lanka as a result of a hamstring harm he picked up in The Hundred, pulling up whereas operating for the Northern Superchargers.

Regardless of being concerned in some coaching, Stokes says he’s very early days in his restoration from a “limiting” harm, however is happy to have nonetheless been across the squad.

“It is going well. Look, it is only three weeks since I had the injury, it is very limiting in terms of what I can do,” Stokes mentioned.

“My training is very limited, it is only throw-downs and work on the front foot.

“It’s a little bit irritating, just a little bit annoying. Hamstring is a little bit of a boring rehab, there may be not a lot you are able to do.

“It has been nice to stay around and be around the group and watch the way we have gone about things in these first two games.”

Six wins out of six? No simple feat

England want to full a Check clear sweep this summer season once they face Sri Lanka within the last match of their sequence from Friday, stay on Sky Sports activities.

With a 3-0 victory over West Indies, and one other whitewash in opposition to Sri Lanka on the playing cards, Stokes believes it can’t be understated how powerful a process that’s to finish.

“It would be great to finish off the summer with another win and say we have won all six games we have had this summer,” he mentioned.

“A summer of Test cricket is hard, six games is a lot.

“We really feel like we now have been fairly compact and there hasn’t been an excessive amount of break between the video games.

“Winning six Test matches in one summer is no mean feat, so it would be great to finish off the summer in the last match against Sri Lanka with a win.”

Watch the third and last Check of the sequence between England and Sri Lanka at The Oval, stay on Sky Sports activities Cricket from 10am on Friday September 6 (first ball, 11am).

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