Ben Stokes summer review: ‘Greatest’ Joe Root, ‘amazing’ Gus Atkinson and Ollie Pope captain | Cricket News

England captain Ben Stokes believes no player has had a bigger impact than Gus Atkinson in his first summer of Test cricket.

Atkinson made his debut at Lord’s against the West Indies in July and immediately made his mark, taking seven wickets for just 45 runs as Jimmy Anderson’s final hurray took place.

The wickets (and runs) then kept coming for the Surrey seamer as he added his name to the place of honor at Lord’s with a 12-wicket match haul in that Test and followed it up with five wickets and a maiden Test century against Sri Lanka. .

With the feat, he joined an exclusive club as Vinoo Mankad and Ian Botham are the only other players to have taken five wickets and scored a century in the same Test.

For Stokes, Atkinson has produced a performance that has faith in the talent of others.

“He is amazing. I have identified him as someone who I think can be successful in Test cricket on the Indian tour even if he doesn’t play the game,” Stokes said. Sky Sports.

“I watched him train for two months, which is hard to do as a player.

“He’s bowling fast, he’s a skilled bowler and he’s shown that he’s got more than just runs and bowling fast.

“Having seen him bat before, I knew he had potential, and the 100 he got at Lord’s, that said I wasn’t surprised, but I knew he had talent with the bat.

“He has shown the world and himself what he can do with a bat in his hand.

“For my first summer in Test cricket, I can’t remember a bigger impact. Thirty-something wickets and a Test hundred in God’s is amazing.

“He’s been amazing for us. It proves that when you see someone with a little bit of talent, with the skill set and the arsenal that he has as a player, and he says that he goes out and expresses himself and becomes who he wants to be, it’s amazing what the results can be.” you get from it.”

The ‘biggest’ root

There were also standout moments from experienced players this summer, including Joe Root breaking Alastair Cook’s record for most Test centuries for England with his 34th at Lord’s.

As his runs and records continue to root for him, Stokes believes the Yorkshireman is England’s greatest batter.

“He’s an amazing player. I don’t think there’s more I can say about him, I’ve pretty much done all the superlatives with Joe in the 10 or 12 years I’ve played with him,” Stokes said.

“The thing about Joe is that he is unselfish, he puts the team first in any decision-making during a Test match or even during a series.

“He is amazing. He is England’s greatest batsman and it will be difficult to find another like him for a long time.

“Harry Brook may have done what he has done, but what Joe has achieved in the game is amazing and there is still more to come.

“The record for most Tests played by a player is getting closer and closer.”

Pope has been a positive captain

With Stokes injured, Ollie Pope became the captain in the Sri Lanka series, leading the team to two wins to win the series 2-0, but he has struggled with his own batting.

Pope scored just 12 over two innings at Emirates Old Trafford, then just 17 over two innings at Lord’s, also failing on eight occasions to use DRS as captain.

However, Stokes believes Pope has been a very positive captain and noted that people are quick to forget his triumph with the bat, with the 26-year-old picking up the player-of-the-match award in the final Test. West Indies series with scores of 121 and 51 in a 241-run win at Trent Bridge.

“I think he (Pope) has been great,” Stokes said. “There’s definitely the potential for that to happen with the captaincy, I’ve got Joe (Root) and Covid when he’s not in the game against the West Indies and I stand by that.

“I think Popey has done a great job.

“We were 2-0 up, we were under pressure at different times in the series against Sri Lanka and I think the way Popey reacted to that situation and fought the momentum back in the game was something he did well.

“He has taken positive choices when making decisions on the field and I think he has done well in the first two games.

“I think we all forgot that he got two 50s and a 100 against the West Indies.”

Training was limited after a hamstring injury

Stokes has not played in the series against Sri Lanka due to a hamstring injury he picked up in The Hundred, while running for the Northern Superchargers.

Despite taking part in some training, Stokes said he is still very early in his recovery from a “limiting” injury but is happy to still be in the squad.

“It’s going really well. Look, it’s only been three weeks since I got the injury, it really limits what I can do,” Stokes said.

“My training was very limited, just throwing down and working on the front leg.

“It’s a bit frustrating, a bit annoying. The hamstring is a boring rehab, not much can be done.

“It’s good to stick around and be around the group and watch the way they’ve done in these first two games.”

Six wins out of six? Not an easy feat

England look to complete their Test clean sweep this summer when they face Sri Lanka in the final match of the series from Friday, live on Sky Sports.

With a 3-0 victory over the West Indies, and another whitewash against Sri Lanka on the cards, Stokes believes it cannot be understated how difficult the task is to complete.

“It’s great to finish off the summer with another win and say we’ve won all six games we’ve played this summer,” he said.

“The summer of Test cricket is tough, six games is a lot.

“We felt compact and there was no break between the games.

“Winning six Test matches in one summer is no mean feat, so it was great to end the summer in the last match against Sri Lanka with a win.”

Friday 6 September 10:00

Watch the third and final Test of the series between England and Sri Lanka at The Oval, live on Sky Sports Cricket from 10am on Friday 6 September (first ball, 11am).

Sky Sports+ has officially launched and will be integrated into Sky TV, the NOW streaming service and the Sky Sports app, giving Sky Sports subscribers access to more than 50 per cent of live sport this year at no extra cost. Find out more here.