England's Ben Stokes: Game more suited to sub-continent
Monday 24 October 2016 13:12, UK
Ben Stokes says learning to curb his attacking instincts has made him a more potent player on the subcontinent.
The Durham all-rounder was named man of the match after taking combined figures of 6-46 and top-scoring with 85 off 151 balls in England's 22-run victory over Bangladesh, in the first Test at Chittagong.
Stokes averaged just 14.66 on last winter's tour of the UAE against Pakistan, and picked up only five wickets after he injured his shoulder on the first day of the third Test.
He told Sky Sports that since then he has been working hard on his batting, in particular taking advice from head coach Trevor Bayliss on how to build an innings.
"The hardest bit out here is starting," he said. "There are guys in front of the bat at silly mid-off and short leg, and leg slip - especially when the ball is coming into you.
"You know your defence has to be pretty tight as well as being able to rotate the strike so you don't feel you're building all that pressure on yourself and you need to score. It's about working with the guy at the other end as well.
"Our middle-order is packed with aggressive players and good players against spin, but at some point, you need to nurture that and understand what the position of the game is.
"Trevor is big on the word 'positive'. As he says every single time it's not all about hitting fours and sixes - it's about rotating the strike.
"In conditions like this in the second innings, ones and twos were just as valuable as anything in making sure the partnership got up and that we got as high a score as possible."
Skipper Alastair Cook turned to his seam pairing of Stuart Broad and Stokes on the final morning of the Test, which began with Bangladesh needing 33 to win with two wickets in hand.
Stokes sent down the decisive deliveries, dismissing Taijul Islam and Shafiul Islam lbw in the space of three balls after Cook had opted not to take the new ball.
"My last subcontinent tour was in the UAE and I know I'm not going to get the new ball so all my skills were based around reverse swing," said Stokes.
"One thing I have worked on is getting the ball back into the right-hander. I find that a lot easier than taking the ball away.
"It was just finding a method of making sure I could use that as well as I possibly could, whether it be changing my angles on the crease and where I'm delivering the ball from."
Catch re-runs of the day five action from 7am on the hour every hour until our live Verdict show kicks in at 3pm. Then join us for live coverage of the second Test between Bangladesh and England, live on Sky Sports 2 from 4.30am on Friday.
