After a dismal World Cup in Australia, England have found their way in the ODI game and have beaten New Zealand in the series 3-2. One of the finds of New Zealand’s tour for the hosts has been Ben Stokes who produced a brilliant performance in the first Test to give them a victory.
Stokes, 24, has reminded everyone of the fierce all-rounder Andrew Flintoff in his prime. But Flintoff who was asked about Stokes by the BBC said that Stoke is a player capable of overtaking what he achieved.
Flintoff said that Stokes has a lot more skill than him went on to say that he can become one of the best players in the England team. He added that Stokes was an impact player and match winner and that his performance should not be judged by the numbers and statistics.
The 37 year old felt that it was important to see how many games he had has an impact on and added that he will easily stamp his mark on at least 2 or 3 of the matches in the Ashes series.
Flintoff was talking about the chances of England in the Ashes. He said that England had a balanced side with the openers scoring runs. He said that it was good to see Root and Bell finding form and the likes of Ballance has looked confident.
He also spoke about Anderson and his brilliance. He said that in the bowling department, he is well supported by Broad an experienced bowler and Mark Wood who has raw pace. But what Flintoff was happy with was the fact that Stokes could contribute in both the departments.
He also added that the England team is a bit weak in the bowling department. He felt that Moeen Ali could be the answer but wanted a bit more from him.
England won its First Ashes series in 18 years in 2005 thanks to an all-round performance by Andrew Flintoff. He picked 24 wickets and scored 402 runs in that series. He wanted Stokes to produce a performance like this and give England the Ashes and a test series victory for England against Australia after almost 3 years.