New Delhi, July 12 Former England captain Nasser Hussain said Ben Stokes being placed alongside Jacques Kallis and Sir Garfield Sobers in an exclusive all-rounders club of taking 200 wickets and scoring 6,000 runs in Test cricket is a phenomenal achievement for the side’s current captain.
On day two of England’s ongoing Test against the West Indies at Lord’s, Stokes trapped West Indies batter Kirk McKenzie lbw to become just the third player after Sobers and Kallis to do the double of scalping 200 wickets and amassing 6,000 runs in Test cricket.
"Some that played against Sobers would tell you he was the best player they had seen as a batter alone. Stokes being in that category alongside them is a phenomenal achievement and the fact he is bowling again is so positive for England, because it provides this team with balance," wrote Hussain in his column for Daily Mail.
Stokes, who made his Test debut in 2013, is now back to his full-fledged all-rounder duties for England after undergoing a successful knee surgery post the 2023 ODI World Cup. “At times last winter when he played as a specialist with the bat, he went into his shell a little bit.
"But when you've got two strings to your bow, there is a greater licence to attack and now he's back bowling, I don't think it will be long before we see him replicating that positive intent of the past and scoring runs again - he's too good a player to keep down for long.
"More importantly, though, he adds something to the attack not just as a part-time, hold-up-an-end bowler but a genuine wicket taking option. How nice it has been to see him running in and delivering the ball without a grimace this week," added Hussain.
He also hopes for Stokes to not exert himself much while bowling and went on to explain how he causes problems for batters in Tests. "My only concern is that he doesn't overdo it. He bowled an eight-over spell in the first innings and trumped it with one of 10 on the second evening.
"The game of cricket is about angles and, to both left handers and right handers Stokes causes problems. As we saw with the wicket that took his Test tally to 200, as a left-hander Kirk McKenzie thought the delivery was going across him, but because Stokes has a really strong wrist position, he retains the ability to get the ball to go either way.
"As a right-hander, Mikyle Louis could have used the Lord's slope to leave the ball but Stokes' angle encouraged him to play it. So, he ended up playing at a slightly wider delivery, nicked it and that was that. Equally, when it reverse swings, as it might do later in the summer, the angle he creates makes him one of England's best exponents of the art.
"He's versatile. His bowling statistics tell you exactly how versatile. And in reaching yet another career landmark on day two of this match, the 33-year-old emphasised something we already knew - he's such a vital cricketer for England," concluded Hussain.
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