England vs South Africa 2017, 3rd Test: Ben Stokes Reminds Stuart Broad of Andrew Flintoff

Jul 31, 2017 at 10:48 AM

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England vs South Africa 2017, 3rd Test: Ben Stokes Reminds Stuart Broad of Andrew Flintoff

Ben Stokes had made his displeasure clear before the start of the third Test against South Africa after England players were severely criticised for their meek surrender in the second Test at Trent Bridge where they had lost by a whopping margin of 340 runs.

Stokes had called on his teammates to eradicate the inconsistency that has dogged their Test cricket but insisted their desire to win, must not be called into question.

And at The Oval, the all-rounder took the onus on himself to prove that. After a blistering century in the first innings to guide England to a good total, the 26-year-old has put his team on the path to victory with brilliant bowling in the second innings.

His spell on the fourth day, when he dismissed Quinton de Kock and South Africa captain Faf du Plessis might turn out to be decisive, as South Africa finished the day on 117 for four in pursuit of an improbable 492.

Credits: Getty

And while Stokes has only elevated his stature as the world’s leading all-rounder with his heroics in the ongoing Test, he reminded his teammate Stuart Broad of his illustrious predecessor Andrew Flintoff.

Read More: (When England all-rounder bowled one of the best overs in Test cricket)

“It felt like one of those intimidating spells that Flintoff used to bowl; heavy and at the batsman,” said Stuart Broad after the day’s play. “Today, he [Stokes] bowled as quick as I’ve seen him bowl. He had the wind behind him and his tail was up. The bouncer that hit Elgar early in his spell really fired him up.

“It was a great little period for us to get two key batsmen out with genuine pace. It was an exciting session. When Stokesy gets that momentum it’s great to see. He’s a player who goes with the momentum of the game and he dragged the team with him for that spell.

“He’s a guy you want either batting or bowling in key moments of the game. That first inning was a really mature knock. He played slightly out of his comfort zone to keep the team calm,” he added.

Broad also probably sent out a warning to the other teams by saying that Stokes gives his best when the opposition tries to take him on.

“With Stokesy, he’s a better cricketer when he’s in a battle when he’s fired up. The team are learning how to get him in that mode more often than not. If you can stroke him up a little bit, he has that steely, focused look about him. He was pumped up for that spell this afternoon. He was frustrated at how he got out and it was a good time for him to get the ball, get him in the game early.

“The crowd got behind him and you can see he was focused. As players, you keep saying to him “This is your time, keep going at him here, keep looking to bowl aggressively”. He’s always a better bowler when he uses his bouncer,” Broad said.

England would have made further inroads when they had South Africa reeling at 52 for four in 17 overs but Dean Elgar and Temba Bavuma dashed their hopes by seeing out the remaining 21 overs, adding 65 runs.

“Ideally we’d have liked one more [wicket] tonight,” said Broad. “That last hour South Africa batted really well. But you back yourself to get six wickets In a Test match on a day five pitch.

Elgar is unbeaten on 72

“The pitch showed signs of a little bit of variable bounce. I thought we bowled really well today. The pitch hasn’t done heaps today. It seamed more on day one, day two and swung with the overheads but as soon as the sun comes out, it’s played a bit better for the batsmen,” he added.

Also Read: (South Africa’s assistance coach hopeful of a fight at the Oval)

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