WATCH: Ben Stokes' intense England training session in Sri Lanka
Stokes: "You can never take anything for granted. If things don't go well, I'm not going to look back and say 'I didn't try hard enough'."
Tuesday 23 October 2018 12:42, UK
Ben Stokes has always been an all-effort cricketer - and that does not change in training.
Nasser Hussain and Ian Ward followed the England all-rounder in practice ahead of the fifth and final ODI against Sri Lanka in Colombo, with Nas noting the "intensity" of Stokes' prep and that there was "no messing around" as he batted, bowled, fielded - and played football1
Watch Stokes' vigorous training session at the top of the page, including angles from a GoPro camera as he worked on his ramp shot, something he says he has picked up from Jos Buttler.
"You are representing your country, playing at the highest level possible, so you can never take anything for granted," Stokes told Sky Sports Cricket.
"It can go away from you as quickly as it came to you. If things don't go well, I'm not going to look back and say 'I didn't try hard enough'.
"I think you really get the benefit if you try to make training as real as possible [to a game]. We have a real structure to our training, with Farby [assistant coach Paul Farbrace] planning everything.
"I'm always trying to get better and figure out if there is anything I can add to my game. I bat a lot with Jos, so I watch certain things he does when he trains. I have been working on the ramp for ages.
"Football is also a big part of the group. It gets us all going and the competitive juices flowing. It's something we all look forward to. People say we are footballers with a cricketing problem!"
Having watched Stokes training at close quarters, Nasser not only pinpointed how hard he hits the ball and how he has a sound technique but also that he uses the depth of the crease while batting - and that you can never keep him out of the action.
"We have been here for an hour and half and he's been batting for an hour and 20 in the nets," Hussain said. "He also tries to keep when he's not on strike, taking caches, reviewing. You just can't keep him out of the game.
"Ben is a muscular hitter but when you see him bat in the nets against spin he is actually quite wristy. Some of the Australians are quite rigid against spin but he manoeuvres the ball.
"He then got a member of the support staff to measure exactly his run-up - he was meticulous about that - while his fielding is always full on."
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