England’s Ben Stokes had his fair share of ups and downs. From being a trouble maker to be an instrumental figure in the country’s 2019 World Cup victory- Stokes has been at extreme ends of the pole. His involvement in the 2017 Bristol nightclub brawl nearly ended his cricketing career, but that episode played a key role in shaping up England cricket’s culture in the long run, according to ECB Director of Cricket- Andrew Strauss.
Strauss played a crucial role in revamping the England side. Speaking on Sky Sports podcast, Strauss narrated how the incident featuring Stokes played a pivotal role in shaping fortunes. “That was a massive spanner on the works. It made us realize no matter what you do in the park, there can be some things that can happen off the pitch that can be far more damaging than anything that happens on the pitch.” he said.
Andrew Strauss on the Ben Stokes episode
“Us losing a series is a bit of a step back but it’s not a big deal. But losing our best player for an extended period of time. Having to reshape our team and constantly back off questions about the England team’s culture and drinking and that sort of stuff was incredibly damaging.” the former England skipper opined.
Stokes was England’s match-winner at the World Cup and the home Ashes series against Australia. The heroics at Headingly by the batter denied Tim Paine’s men a series win on English soil in nearly three decades. Strauss termed the turbulent period as a blessing in disguise as that earned England their maiden World Cup and stitched their team culture for good.
“In retrospect I think what happened with Ben Stokes was a blessing in disguise because it helped the players appreciate the culture bit. They realised it’s not one of those things that the coach or the director wants us to do but it is something which either takes us close to winning or takes us away from it.” Strauss said.