Eoin Morgan hailed the authenticity of Ben Stokes and believes the England captain is sincere about following through with a win-at-any-cost mentality in every Test against Australia.
Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum have transformed the Test side’s fortunes with 11 wins in 13 matches but a long-awaited Ashes showdown starting next week could challenge their aggressive approach.
However, Stokes demonstrated in New Zealand in February he is prepared to risk defeat to pursue victory and the all-rounder is adamant that will not change despite the stakes being considerably higher this summer.
And Morgan doubts there is any bluffing from Stokes, who has insisted that he would declare even if England were 2-1 up and 300 ahead with seven wickets in hand going into the last day of the final Test.
The former England white-ball skipper, speaking in his role as a Sky Sports pundit, told the PA news agency: “I don’t believe anything Ben says is for show.
“He is a man of his word, he is very authentic, you can tell it speaks volumes both on and off the field and it rings clear in the changing room, so it should be no different for anybody in the public.
“When you have a leader like that, it’s great because there’s just clear, transparent direction in where you’re going and what you want to achieve.
“A draw isn’t the task, they want to win, their eyes are on the prize and he seems to get more out of his own players that way.”
Morgan lifted England’s white-ball sides out of the doldrums to 50-over World Cup glory in 2019 – and among his team-mates was Stokes, who took charge of a Test side that had won just once in 17 matches.
While there might be some parallels in their captaincy arcs, Morgan feels that is where the similarities end.
Morgan said: “I see shades of the trend and journey that he’s going through but ultimately he’s his own leader – and he should be.
“For the best part of four or five years, England were terrible at Test match cricket, they tried fighting and being dogged, defensive and playing the long game, and that just doesn’t work. I can imagine the cornerstone of Ben’s thinking is ‘we’re not going back to playing that way’.
“You need to be as authentic as you can as a leader, particularly around the group simply because you ask everybody else to be authentic and if you’re not, people tend to notice it at various stages.”
Morgan was renowned for his shrewd thinking under intense pressure but even he draws a blank when asked how he would attempt to negate England under Stokes and McCullum.
He said: “When they get going, it’s a captain’s nightmare so I suppose stopping them getting going would be the biggest challenge. I’m not even sure how you do that. I wouldn’t put myself through it!”
Stokes, though, could meet his match in opposite number Pat Cummins, according to Morgan, who played alongside and captained the paceman at Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League.
Morgan added: “Pat’s captaincy has been exceptional. I would hold him in the same regard as I hold Ben Stokes’ leadership. He is a very cool, calm customer and very intelligent for a fast bowler.
“He’s completely bucked the trend. An important part of captaincy is taking in what’s happening in the game and taking in opinions from others – that is incredibly difficult to do when you’re charging in for upwards of 20 overs per day, giving your all physically and mentally in the bowling innings.
“He has managed to find a balance. Clearly, he’s making good decisions and being able to bowl very well at the same time.”
:: Every match of the men’s and women’s Ashes will be shown live and exclusively on Sky Sports and NOW from 16th June.
Babar's captain's innings leads Pakistan to victory as series drawn with New Zealand
Babar Azam top scored as he led his Pakistan team to a nine-run victory over New Zealand in Lahore that saw the five-game T20I series end in a draw.
Babar hit 69 runs off 44 balls before being bowled by Ben Sears, smashing six fours and two sixes to take his team to 123/3 at the time of his dismissal.
Fakhar Zaman (43 from 33) and Usman Khan (31 off 24) also chipped in with important innings as Pakistan ended on 178/5.
With a target of 179 to secure a 3-1 series victory, New Zealand's run chase faltered almost immediately as opener Tom Blundell was removed within the first over with his team having managed just five runs on the board.
Blundell's fellow opener Tim Seifert steadied the ship with a vital 52-run innings off 33 deliveries before being bowled by Usama Mir, but Shaheen Shah Afridi led the way for Pakistan, finishing with figures of 4-30 to stem the New Zealand run chase
Josh Clarkson's 38 off 26 set up a nervy conclusion, but Pakistan held on to avoid defeat in the T20 series as the teams share the spoils at two wins apiece after the first game was abandoned.
IPL: Fraser-McGurk leads the way as Capitals hold off Mumbai
Delhi Capitals withstood Mumbai Indian’s late surge and held on for a 10-run victory at Arun Jaitley Stadium.
Jake Fraser-McGurk top-scored with 84 – hitting 50 off just 15 balls – while Tristan Stubbs (48) and Shai Hope (41) also chipped in with important contributions as the Capitals set a target of 258.
Mukesh Kumar (3/59) and Rasikh Salam (3/34) did their best to halt Mumbai’s revival, but they turned up the pressure to require 25 runs from the final over.
However, despite Luke Wood and Piyush Chawla’s best efforts, Delhi held out for a second successive win.
Data debrief
Wood almost made amends after conceding 68 runs during the opening innings – the joint-most in the IPL this season, matching Reece Topley’s tally against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Tilak Varma led Mumbai’s attempted revival with 63 for his sixth half-century in the IPL, though they have all come in defeats
Chase outdone by opposite number Paudel as West Indies A suffer four-wicket loss to Nepal
West Indies A’s tour of Nepal got off to an unfortunate start, after they suffered a four-wicket loss to their host in a high scoring opening fixture of their five-match Twenty20 series at the Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground in Kirtipur, on Saturday.
Set a formidable 204 by West Indies A, Nepal’s thrilling victory, which was set up by a captain’s knock from Rohit Paudel, etched their names in the history books, as they successfully got to their target at 206-6 with two balls to spare.
Paudel smashed a 54-ball 112, including 10 fours and two sixes to see his team to a 1-0 lead in the series, which West Indies Head coach Darren Sammy said offers his team a chance to define roles and personnel more clearly for their ICC Men’s T20 World Cup squad.
However, the Caribbean side’s all-round effort was found wanting, as only captain Roston Chase (74), Alick Athanaze (47) and Keacy Carty (38) offered any resistance with the bat, while only Obed McCoy (2-34) and Matthew Forde (2-49) had some semblance of success with the ball.
Scores: West Indies A 204-5 (20 overs); Nepal 206-6 (19.4 overs)
Asked to take first strike, after losing the toss, West Indies A suffered an early blow, as they lost Johnson Charles (zero) off the last ball of the opening over, with 16 runs on the board. Andre Fletcher (13) stuck two sixes off five balls, before he too departed via the run-out route, leaving West Indies A at 43-2 in the fourth over.
However, Athanaze went about business, striking three sixes and five fours in a 25-ball knock, as he put on 43 for the third wicket with Chase, prior to his demise. From there, Chase and Carty added another 60 runs in a fourth-wicket stand that defined the innings.
Carty’s 38 off 26 balls, included two fours and three sixes, while Chase, who anchored the innings with a captain’s knock, struck nine fours and two sixes in his 46-ball 74. Kadeem Alleyne, on 14, and Keemo Paul, one, were left not out.
No Nepal bowler took more than one wicket.
With runs on the board, West Indies A would have felt confident of wrapping up a win, even more so, after Forde and McCoy combined to remove openers Anil Sah (five) and Kushal Bhurtel (16) to have Nepal at 38-2 in the fifth over.
West Indies remained in the ascendancy when Fletcher and Charles combined to run out Kushal Malla (16), leaving their host on the ropes at 82-3 at the halfway mark.
However, Paudel showed class, in not only reviving his team’s innings, but pushed them all the way with some aggressive stroke play, assisted by wayward bowling from West Indies A attack at times. Dipendra Singh Airee (24) offered support to his captain in getting Nepal across the line for a famous victory.
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