Ben Stokes on Monday said that he was “proud” to be in a position where he might replace Joe Root as England skipper against the West Indies, even though he has not captained a side since he was a teenager.
England vice captain Stokes could find himself leading out the team for next week’s first Test at Southampton — or later in the three-match series — should Root be absent attending the birth of his second child and the all-rounder said that he would accept the “huge honor” if it came his way.
“Even if it’s only the once you can still say: ‘Yeah, I’ve captained England,’” he told a news conference.
Photo: AFP
Stokes was restored to his position as Test vice captain in July last year, nearly a year after being found not guilty of affray following an incident outside a nightclub.
“After that happened it was: ‘Right, what am I going to do from this point forward?” Stokes told Sky Sports in a separate interview. “How am I going to carry and conduct myself?”
“I’m quite proud to say I’m in this situation through hard work and determination. I wanted to get better and it’s been no fluke,” he said.
However, Stokes, who last led a cricket team aged 16 for Durham Academy, said that the captaincy had never been on his list of priorities.
“I’ve never set a goal to want to be a captain,” the 29-year-old said. “Alastair Cook was always destined to be England captain after Andrew Strauss. Joe Root was always destined to be captain after Alastair Cook. If I’m being honest, I’m not one of those that people would necessarily associate [as] the next England captain.”
With Stokes already England’s star all-rounder, analysts have said that he does not need the extra responsibility of captaincy as well, but Stokes, who jokingly said that he would have “nine slips and a gully” as captain, insisted leadership would not dull his attacking approach.
Last year he played a key role in England’s Cricket World Cup triumph, before scoring a stunning century at Headingley to win an astounding Test against Australia.
“Even if I am in charge that’s not going to change the way that I go about things, in terms of how I want to influence the game, which is try to make a positive effect with the ball or bat in my hand,” Stokes said.
England national selector Ed Smith and his panel pick the team, but the England captain traditionally has an influence on the XI.
“I might not have as many friends after this Test match,” Stokes said.
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but