Ben Stokes is probably the flag-bearer of this new-look England team which has been earmarked by many to achieve unprecedented success for the pioneers of the game in the limited-overs format.
England rarely boasted of a world-class team in the limited-overs format in the past but their current side is as formidable, as anyone can expect and has the ability to beat the best of the sides in world cricket right now.
Under Eoin Morgan and with the arrival of fearless players like Jason Roy, Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes, the Three Lions have made a remarkable turnaround after the disastrous 2015 World Cup when they exited the tournament at the group stage after being beaten by Bangladesh. They have managed to put up huge totals on a consistent basis and the way they begin their Champions Trophy campaign, it is quite safe to say that they are the red-hot favourites to lay their hands on the coveted trophy.
And if there is one player who has become the face of this England team, he is Ben Stokes. One of the best all-rounders in the world right now, Stokes has turned heads with his performances in the last one year or so and has become an indispensable part of the team. However, the 26-year old does not think on the same line and feels that all the players of this England team are equally capable.
“I think it’s the easy thing to say that I’m at the forefront. I don’t necessarily think that you know. I think the whole XI out there are all on the same level and all know what we want to do as a team. You look at how deep we bat, (Liam) Plunkett was in at No. 9 today, so we know that we can just keep going and going because we’ve got very capable batters coming in down the order,” he told ICC after England thrashed New Zealand by 87 runs in their second game on Tuesday (June 6).
Just at the start of the tournament, England had suffered a huge blow when their all-rounder Chris Woakes was ruled out of the competition after suffering side strain in the opening game against Bangladesh. And while admitting that Woakes’ absence is a big blow, Stokes insisted that England doing well even without the all-rounder is a proof of the team’s strength.
“Obviously Woakesy (Woakes) is a big miss for us but this proves how strong we are at the moment – that someone with the skill level of Woakesy misses out and someone else can come in and be very effective. It’s an exciting time for English cricket and I’m excited to be part of it as a player,” he said.
Stokes also played a big part in England’s win over New Zealand, scoring 48 and taking the important wicket of Martin Guptill, as the hosts became the first team to make it to the semifinals.
Speaking on the team’s journey since the disastrous 2015 World Cup, Stokes further added:
“It’s been a very positive journey since the World Cup. Obviously, we are doing some things right considering our consistency since then. It’s a great group to be a part of. We really enjoy each others’ success and everyone’s really driven by putting the performances which affect the team outcome. We know how dangerous a team we are but at the same time, we are very good at keeping our feet on the floor. We just take it game by game, don’t look too far ahead and just play what’s in front of us.”
“We know how well we’ve done and we know that if we perform to anywhere near our capability we are going to be a really tough team to beat,” said Stokes. “We know that, and I think other teams know that as well. We don’t put any pressure on ourselves to live up to being the favourites, I think we just earn that right from the way that we played,” he added.