Ben Stokes doesn’t give damn what anybody says, he is doing it his way: Nasser Hussain

Former England captain Nasser Hussain lauded England Test captain Ben Stokes for his methods as a leader and his role in improving the team since taking over. In spite of the comparisons, he insisted that he is not like Ian Botham or Andrew Flintoff. Hussain also added that Stokes does things his way without paying attention to what others have to say.

The former cricketer also spoke about other appointments in England, which are Robert Key as the managing director and Brendon McCullum as the head coach of the Test team. He reckons that these were very good appointments, adding that he had not known how rapid the improvement was going to be for the team, following the arrival of new recruits.

“When Key was appointed managing director, there were people who said, ‘What does he know about administration? He’s never done it’. Well, Key has done all right with the decisions he has made so far,” Hussain wrote in his column for Daily Mail.

Ben Stokes is not Botham or Flintoff, he is proving himself to be a brilliant leader: Hussain

“There were questions about whether Stokes would succeed as captain and comparisons made with other great all-rounders such as Ian Botham and Andrew Flintoff, who perhaps didn’t make the greatest leaders. Well, he’s not Botham or Flintoff, he’s Ben Stokes and he is proving himself to be a brilliant leader of his national team,” said the former England captain.

Hussain said that there were also doubts about Key appointing McCullum as the coach, as he had never been in charge of red-ball team. He highlighted that McCullum had the experience of playing in 101 Test matches and also revolutionised New Zealand’s red-ball side as their captain. “Clearly, these were very good appointments, but I don’t think any of us could have known quite how good it would be this summer and quite how rapid England’s improvement would be,” said the former English batter.

“Stokes doesn’t give a damn what anybody else says. He is doing it his way, to the extent of having Stuart Broad padded up as nightwatchman,” added Hussain. “When did you last see Broad play a defensive shot?”