Shortly after England’s memorable win in Multan, Ben Stokes was asked by a Pakistani reporter whether his side should be allowed to ‘change the way’ of Test cricket.
Old Stokes may be feathered. The new Stokes smiled, paused, and gave a considered answer about his team’s changing attitude over the last few surprising months. He is relaxed, articulate and polite. Leadership comes in many forms. Stokes probably surprised even himself.
Whichever direction Bazball takes, and the immediate ambition is a historic 3-0 whitewash of Pakistan, which begins in Karachi on Saturday, Stokes is already jostling for a place in the pantheon of England’s greatest captains.
Ben Stokes (centre) has made a big impact since becoming England’s Test captain in April
Stokes led his side to an impressive series win in Pakistan with a game to spare
It’s not just that they keep winning. This is where they come from – one win in 17 under Joe Root, eight in nine since.
And this is how they are being talked about, with Australia the latest in a long line of opponents to suggest the new style won’t work against them in next summer’s Ashes.
Even on the standard scale of measuring leadership, Stokes’s views are challenging. It seems too narrow, now, to say that greatness cannot be awarded until you win in Australia, as only Len Hutton, Ray Illingworth, Mike Brearley, Mike Gatting and Andrew Strauss have done since the Second World War.
In any case, that is always very simple. Gatting’s wins in Brisbane and Melbourne were his only victories from 23 Tests in charge. As for Stokes, he won’t get his chance until 2025-26.
We also often admire series that become instant history. Douglas Jardine threatened diplomatic relations between Britain and Australia with his bodyline tactics in 1932-33. Michael Vaughan helped end 16 years of Ashes misery in 2005. Strauss won three Tests Down Under in an innings 12 winters ago.
Stokes has changed the way England play their Test cricket since he took over the captaincy
But the leg-theory was soon outlawed and Vaughan’s team never took the field again. Even Strauss’s side fell into the abyss. Stokes’ intention, on the other hand, is to create a legacy, to change the way Tests are played. His vision was vastly greater, perhaps impossible. But its scale and ambition are glorious.
Even the traditional way of totting up the winnings doesn’t seem to be enough. Last year, Root became England’s most successful captain, with 27 victories. Then again, he was also their losingest captain, with 26 losses.
Peter May, with 20 wins, helped make England the best side in the world in the 1950s, but the Test scene had little depth back then.
Brearley’s record of 18 wins and four losses was helped by three factors – he did not lead England against the all-conquering West Indies, his 5-1 victory in 1978-79 came against an Australia that weakened by abandoning Kerry Packer, and he had a peak Ian Botham.
Illingworth was mean when he called Brearley ‘the luckiest captain ever’, but leaders need good fortune. Botham, who has 12 Test runs including nine against the West Indies, might agree.
Nasser Hussain also made a big difference in English cricket when he became captain
Others have done the cliche and led from the front, opening the batting and scoring runs. Think Graham Gooch, Mike Atherton or Alastair Cook. But Stokes set a different kind of example.
It’s not that he’s scoring more runs now that he’s in charge, it’s that he’s doing it at a faster rate – 78 per 100 balls, compared to 57 in the rankings. It was a typically selfless gesture and all his teammates signed up. In Rawalpindi, England bowled out at 6.73 an over, a record in two innings of a Test.
A useful comparison is with Nasser Hussain. Like Stokes, he tried to change the mindset of English cricket, turning them from underdogs in the Wisden Test Championship in 1999 to a strong side capable of winning against Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
Even that, however, doesn’t capture the magnitude of what Stokes is trying to pull off. Hussain is committed to England. Stokes has a whole game in his sights and needs to be careful not to sound preachy when he explains why Test cricket is worth saving.
Andrew Strauss led England to a stunning Ashes win in Australia in 2010-11
If his team continues to improve, so much the better – Stokes’ winning percentage of 80 (including a one-off defeat in 2020 by the West Indies when Root took paternity leave) is higher than any England captain with a minimum of 10 Tests.
It’s early days, but he seems to be covering the best of his predecessors. The single-mindedness of Jardine and Hussain, the man-management of Brearley and Vaughan, the street-wisdom of Illingworth and the dressing room popularity of Root.
He is as tactically astute as anyone and very fond of entertainment. Above all, he has presence.
Stokes is on a mission. The pantheon? He is already there. If England continue, he will finish right at the top.
David Lloyd – Stokes will smash the rest!
The best captain I have ever seen was Ian Chappell. A leader of people, strong and with great vision. His Australian players will run into brick walls for him. But we are talking about the England captains.
Mike Brearley is always talked about and he is a great man-manager with some big personalities to deal with. He is the stand-out. I worked with Mike Atherton and he doesn’t get the credit he deserves as captain. He truly cares about his team and every individual on it.
Then you have Nasser Hussain and Michael Vaughan. Nasser was a no-nonsense, wonderful captain, incredible tactically. Vaughan is very innovative and always two or three steps ahead of the game. He is willing to be un-English and accept opposition.
But from what we’ve seen so far from Ben Stokes – he’s going to smash them! He is a revelation.
Michael Vaughan (left) led England to Ashes glory in 2005, becoming a modern captain
Nasser Hussain – Stokes will be judged in the Ashes
I always looked up to Mike Brearley, especially the way he got the best out of Ian Botham. And you only have to look at what happened to England in Australia before 2010-11 and since then to recognize how special Andrew Strauss’s Ashes win there was.
Michael Vaughan has to be there because in 2005 he gave us the best Ashes series we have ever witnessed. When everyone else was hiding behind their sofas, he was cool under the pressure.
When Ben Stokes finishes he will probably rank as the best of the lot but I don’t know where he stands now. He will have to do it against Australia home and away as England captains are usually judged by that but he ticks all the boxes – he has Brearley’s management and Vaughan’s calm and tactical nous. I am sure he will go down as one of England’s most influential captains.
Mike Brearley deserves enormous credit for getting the best out of Ian Botham
Paul Newman – Stokes may be the best of the lot
Nasser Hussain takes some beating as an England captain as far as I am concerned. I first saw Nasser’s captaincy potential when I reported on Pakistan’s England A tour in 1995. At that stage, no one thought of him as a future England captain, but he was an absolute natural.
Look how low England cricket was when he and Duncan Fletcher took over in 1999. They were at the bottom of the world! But Nasser pulled them up by their bootstraps and laid the foundations for what followed when Michael Vaughan took over.
Now Ben Stokes is proving to be an exceptional captain at all levels, surpassing all expectations. I was still worried that he would expect too much of himself but I was relieved to see him not bowling in Multan. If he takes care of himself and continues like this, he will be the best of all.
Stokes could be the best England captain ever if he stays injury free
