Shane Watson said that while dismissing Ben Stokes was always important when playing against England, it gains even more significant now since the all-rounder is now their captain.
England showed their firepower during their 3-0 win (whitewash) over New Zealand and this has now made them favourites in their upcoming postponed fifth Test against India. Newly-appointed captain Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum seem to have got England to take a radically different approach to the batting front, with an emphasis on being aggressive.
While Ben Stokes was not prolific with the bat himself during the series against New Zealand, he is known to be a player who can play the waiting game before switching gears with ease which makes him one of the most important wickets in the England lineup.
Shane Watson Is Looking Forward For The Battle Between Ben Stokes And Ravichandran Ashwin
Former Australian all-rounder Shane Watson said that he is interested to see how Ben Stokes tackles ace India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin if the latter does get to play in the match which starts on Friday at Edgbaston.
“The battle that I am really looking forward to is Ashwin and Ben Stokes. Ashwin has had his measure a lot over his career. But now also there is more importance on Ben Stokes’ wicket, even more so than ever because he is captain,” said Shane Watson in a video on the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) website.
Ben Stokes, the new captain appointed in place of Joe Root, scored 194 runs against New Zealand averaging 48.5. He also picked 3 scalps. Under former skipper Joe Root, England endured a horror run of only one win in 17 Tests. In Ben Stokes’ maiden assignment as Test captain, though, the Englishmen whitewashed New Zealand 3-0 at home
Shane Watson: Ravichandran Ashwin Going To Be The Main Man To Make The Most Of The Battle Against Ben Stokes
Shane Watson said that the fact that Ben Stokes is now the captain makes his wicket even more valuable.
“In the Australian cricket team, it’s always like if we can work over the captain and try and make it a really not so good series for them, then the ship can start to sink a little bit. Ashwin is going to be the main man to try and make the most of that battle. He does match up incredibly well,” he said.
With Ravindra Jadeja’s spot in the squad all but cemented, it remains to be seen whether India pick Ravichandran Ashwin for the fifth Test. India had not picked the ace spinner in any of the 4 Test matches during the previous four Tests of the series that were played in 2021. However, the visitors go into this Test with entirely new management staff and so the possibility of them thinking differently and playing Ravichandran Ashwin remains open.
Ravichandran Ashwin, the off-spinner made his Test debut in 2011 under the leadership of former Indian skipper MS Dhoni against West Indies in Delhi Test. Since then, he has amazed everyone with his all-around performances in the longest format of the game.
Appearing in 162 innings of 86 matches, Ravichandran Ashwin has scalped 442 wickets with a good bowling average of 24.13 and an economy rate of 2.77. He has claimed five-wicket hauls 30 times in his Test career. Notably, he didn’t get a chance to appear in either of the four Tests of this series India played last year against England under Virat Kohli’s captaincy.