Last Updated on 5 years by Charbel Coorey
Indian batting great Sachin Tendulkar believes that Ben Stokes will lead England from the front in the first Test against West Indies and his infectious energy will come into play.
“He is someone who is going to lead from the front, we have seen that on a number of occasions. He is aggressive, positive and when he has to be slightly defensive he is prepared to do that for the team. I always feel controlled aggression produces results and so far whatever I have seen, the aggression has been there but it is controlled. So this is what I think of Ben Stokes,” he said while talking to Brian Lara on the 100MB app previewing the England vs West Indies series.
Tendulkar also said that in the future Stokes can be referred as one of the best English all-rounders of all time and in the same bracket as some of the past legends.
“For Ben Stokes from what he has been through in the recent past to where he is today it is a total transformation and it can happen only to someone who is mentally strong. When I first looked at him a few years ago, I could see his body language it was so positive and vibrant and that energy is infectious. I felt that he was one of those players where in time to come you look back and say Ben Stokes, (Andrew) Flintoff, Ian Botham these are the leading allrounders who played for England. I really rate him highly and his impact on the field is a major one.”

Lara spoke fondly about his rivalries and great innings against England and Australia.
“I remembered a lot of innings I have played in the past, with Chanderpaul or Jimmy Adams. Those partnerships were so, so important in getting me to where I got to, getting the team the runs that were required. So again, with all the challenges that the West Indies team is going to face with the bat, partnerships are important, rotating the strike, making sure that you keep the bowlers’ best deliveries out and punish the bad ones. Putting runs of the on the board will be key for the West Indies,” the former West Indies player said.
“A good example would be Australia, playing against Australia and I would be on 78 or maybe 114 and McGrath comes back for a spell. I know he is going to bowl six overs-seven overs, so I don’t need to take any great risk if the other guys at the other end are giving me the opportunity to score,” Lara said.
Written by Sarthak Karkhanis. Follow Sarthak on Twitter today.
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