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Says the all-rounder will lead the hosts from front, has controlled
aggression
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New Delhi(Agencies): Indian
batting great Sachin Tendulkar has little doubt that Ben Stokes will lead
England from the front in the opening Test against West Indies, with his
“controlled aggression” and infectious energy aiding him the most.
Tendulkar spoke about stand-in
English skipper Stokes while previewing the three-Test series, which started in
Southampton on Wednesday, with West Indies legend Brian Lara on online platform
'100mb'.
The match marks the resumption
of international cricket amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
To a question from Lara about
Stokes, Tendulkar said, "He is someone who is going to lead from the
front, we have seen that on a number of occasions. He is aggressive, positive
and when he has to be slightly defensive he is prepared to do that for the
team.”
"I always feel controlled
aggression produces results and so far whatever I have seen, the aggression has
been there but it is controlled. So this is what I think of Ben Stokes."
It is the first time Stokes is
leading England having not captained even a first-class team in his career.
Regular skipper Joe Root has opted out of the game to attend the birth of his
second child.
Tendulkar said, "For Ben
Stokes, from what he has been through in the recent past to where he is today,
it is a total transformation and it can happen only to someone who is mentally
strong.”
"When I first looked at
him few years ago, I could see his body language, it was so positive and
vibrant and that energy is infectious.”
"I felt that he was one
of those players where in time to come you look back and say Ben stokes,
(Andrew) Flintoff, Ian Botham these are the leading all-rounders who played for
England. I really rate him highly and his impact on the field is a major
one," said Tendulkar.
On his part, Lara said,
besides Jason Holder's captaincy, batting would hold the key for West Indies
against a fine England seam attack, and reminded the likes of Shai Hope to take
a cue from Tendulkar's epic 241 at the SCG and few of his own knocks in English
conditions.
"You don't necessarily
have to dominate each bowler. If you are batting on 70-80 and somebody is
giving you trouble you back off,” said Lara.
Continuing, Lara told his
one-time biggest rival: "You know that as well Sachin, in terms of that
great innings you played in Sydney, it was not about a particular bowler
getting you out but it was a particular shot getting you out, and you stopped
yourself from playing it and you were able to score in other areas. So it's a
similar sort of approach."
The Prince of Trinidad, who
played some fine knocks in England, recalled his approach to batting there.
"I remembered a lot of
innings I have played in the past, with Chanderpaul or Jimmy Adams. Those
partnerships were so, so important in getting me to where I got to, getting the
team the runs that were required,” he recalled.
"So again, with all the
challenges that the West Indies team is going to face with the bat,
partnerships are important, rotating the strike, making sure that you keep the
bowlers' best deliveries out and punish the bad ones.”
"Putting runs of the on
the board will be key for the West Indies," said Lara.
He also remembered his duels
with the great Glenn McGrath and cited them as example to help the current
team.
"A good example would be
Australia, playing against Australia and I would be on 78 or maybe 114 and
McGrath comes back for a spell. I know he is going to bowl six overs-seven
overs, so I don't need to take any great risk if guys at the other end are
giving me the opportunity to score," said Lara. PTI
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