Tuesday 19 September 2017 22:50, UK
Nasser Hussain discusses whether Ben Stokes is the best all-rounder in ODI cricket and ponders whether the Windies need Chris Gayle, the coldest matches he has played in and considers the relegation contenders in a "remarkable" County Championship season…
Best all-rounder in ODI cricket?
I think I am going to go for Shakib Al Hasan, actually. The potential of Ben Stokes is huge in white-ball cricket. I think Ben Stokes will be challenging in the next year or so to be the best all-rounder in white-ball cricket, without a doubt.
The same goes for Hardik Pandya. If you look at the knock he played the other day against Australia, India were 87-5 and to recover from that position with MS Dhoni - who is another up there for the best all-rounder - was exceptional.
I know Shakib has gone and asked for a rest from Test cricket for six months, but in those conditions in Bangladesh, on the subcontinent, he is a proper all-rounder and he has done it for a long time.
Stokes is not a stats man really but he is a work in progress. When it does click completely though, he is just a phenomenon. He will just get better with age because of his attitude and his character. I don't think Ben is driven by statistics.
He'll do nothing for three games and then he will have this performance that is just world class, doing things that other people cannot do with bat or ball.
We saw a bit of that in the IPL and that experience will stand him in good stead. In terms of potential, I would say Stokes has got what he takes to become the greatest all-rounder.
What's the coldest match you have commentated on?
That's easy! The T20I at Durham on Saturday was the coldest I've ever commentated on by a mile - it was freezing! Until last year, we've never been down in the Pod. When you're up in the commentary box it is lovely and warm. I enjoy it though, the Pod is great and it gives you a great atmosphere but it can also be seriously cold.
And played in?
Sometimes at night in New Zealand it can get very, very chilly. Day-nighters in England, generally, are cold. By the time you finish, even on a sunny day, it can be very cold. How many times have you thought at four o'clock, "the weather is great, let's have a BBQ" and then by half-past seven you are sat there thinking you need to get a fleece on.
It is not perfect conditions for day-night cricket in England, put it that way.
Do the Windies need Chris Gayle?
In white-ball cricket, I think it would be foolish to overlook someone like Chris Gayle. With the stats he's got, the way he plays and how dynamic he is, he can win a game on his own. I always like match-winners in my side. He might not do anything for four games but I reckon he will win one game for the Windies in this series.
They've got some young boys in the one-day side, the Hope boys etcetera, and you want the right culture if Stuart Law is trying to create something - as long as he creates the right culture and goes with what Law is trying to create then absolutely you want him in the team.
In Test match cricket I'm not so sure, to be honest. I think West Indies should stick with the young guns and try and work with them. I don't think the likes of Chris Gayle have played that much red-ball cricket, I'm not sure if they are that interested in it.
I know he has stated he'd like to come back into the Test side but what is he now? 38? I think it is time to move on and look to the youngsters in red-ball cricket.
Who will join Warwickshire in being relegated from County Championship Division One?
I honestly don't know! It could be any one from five or six - it has been a remarkable season. Surrey are third and they've only won one game - that is a remarkable season if that can happen. In our time that was bottom of the Championship! It has been a very odd season.
Last season we did Middlesex v Yorkshire at Lord's on Sky, the Championship-winning game and if someone had said both of those teams would be in a relegation dogfight this year, I'd have said "no way!" I tipped Yorkshire to win it this year!
Middlesex look like their batsmen are really struggling for form so I'd be worried if I were them. I'm surprised they've not gone with some of their younger players in the run in because they've got a very good set-up there with some good young talent coming through. Maybe they just don't want to risk it at this stage of the season.
After the first ODI between England and the Windies was delayed due to a damp outfield on a bright and sunny day, what is the most farcical reason that a game you've been involved in has been called off?
We had one at Antigua and I was stood in the Sir Viv Richards Stadium with Sir Viv Richards and I can tell you that he was not happy that the game was called off - and that was before a ball was even bowled!
I've been involved in a few. I played in the game in Jamaica that was called off because of the pitch - that was a dangerous pitch. You could tell before the game. We turned up and had a look at the pitch and it was like a corrugated roof! We were thinking "if we bat on here it could be deadly" and it was deadly.
One that, fortunately, wasn't called off was in Karachi against Pakistan when it was nearly pitch black. Moeen Khan was slowing the game down and winding up Steve Buckner, the umpire. Steve Buckner was the most stubborn man, he could see what Moeen was doing and he just turned to him and said, "We are staying on, whatever the conditions."
So, there have been the odd one where it has been ridiculous that games have been called off or that we stayed on.
