Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting believes that only Ben Stokes can be the captain of England’s Test team. He said Stokes can improve his game by emphasizing on the leadership. With England’s Test fortunes crumbling under current captain Joe Root, the question has been asked whether a change in captaincy will revive the team in the longest format of the game.
“The only person who can take over is Ben Stokes. I think Stokes would really grow as a player if he was the captain of that side. I think with a little extra responsibility, he will be an even better player.” It can happen and it can have a good impact on the rest of the team.”
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Past history suggests that all-rounders like Ian Botham and Andrew Flintoff, who stepped down from captaincy after struggling in the role, could prevent England from offering Stokes the job of full-time captain in Test cricket. But Ponting felt that making Stokes the captain could be the change England needed in Test cricket. Stokes scored 66 in the first innings despite a left side injury.
“You will also find instances with top-order batsmen where it has not worked. It just sits well with some and not with others. I don’t know Ben Stokes very well, but if I were to try to change the face of English cricket and try to give a little more heartbeat and a little more soul, I think he would be who I am. ‘d looking to lead the team. Even with what we saw yesterday, standing under that physical pain says a lot about him, and his companions will move on from it. Whoever plays under him, I’m sure he’ll have an arm and a leg to grow.”
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Ponting also warned Root that continuing as Test captain after the ongoing Ashes would leave him vulnerable, his final days of his captaincy and Root’s parallels with the current scenario. “I think it’s going to grind him. Even looking at my career, I played a couple of years longer – and possibly captained a few years longer – which I should have done . The challenge just gets harder and harder, and it weighs you down.”
The 47-year-old signed off saying that the future of Root’s Test captaincy could be discussed in the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). “Where England cricket is right now, they have been looking pretty normal in the last eight or 10 Test matches, they might need a complete reboot with a fresh face. I’m not saying he needs to go or stand down. But I think it will be a conversation in the back room of the ECB.”
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