There was never an iota of doubt regarding the talent of Durham all-rounder, Ben Stokes. But inconsistency and indiscipline plagued early part of his career. But, now he has completely come into his own groove. He is having a blockbuster summer. Stokes first played a defining hand in England’s 2019 Cricket World Cup win and now with his heroics in the Headingley Test, the New Zealand-born cricketer is the toast of the nation.
His superlative performance has not only earned him respect from his teammates but also rivals. Former Australian captain and star batsman, Steven Smith finds Ben Stokes a “tough character”, who keenly looks forward to high-octane “pressure” situations.
Smith, who is also a teammate of Ben Stokes at Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League said, “I’m not a great watcher of cricket, never really have been so I didn’t quite enjoy that, but what an advertisement for Test cricket. It was a pretty amazing inning from Stokesy. He completely turned the series on its head. We had an opportunity to wrap it up but he was incredible. Even when you go back to two nights before that night where he bowled 14 overs straight. Someone said on average he bowled the quickest for the day across those 14 overs so that’s a pretty amazing effort.”
Smith added, “He’s a tough competitor, he wants to be in the pressure moments. He thrives under pressure as we’ve seen the last couple of months and he turned the game there at the end. I think you could see the passion and fight he showed. He never gave up.”