Ben Stokes has always been a match-winner and a leader, says England team-mate Mark Wood
Wood: "He leads through the way he speaks, through his actions and the way he trains"
Wednesday 28 August 2019 09:23, UK
Mark Wood has opened up on the attributes that make his Durham and England team-mate Ben Stokes such a special talent.
Headingley rose to acclaim one of English sport's greatest individual performances as Stokes masterminded his country's great escape on Sunday afternoon, levelling the Ashes series with a wicket to spare.
The England left-hander displayed resilience, courage, no little skill and flair to score 135 over five hours to seal his country's biggest fourth-innings chase in Test cricket - and Wood has lifted the lid on what makes him so special.
The Ashes - Live
"I think it's a mixture of things - self-belief is high among them," Wood told Sky Sports. "In those situations, he always believes he can do it.
"Ever since we were in the academy, he was the go-to man. He was the most competitive and the most determined to prove everyone wrong.
"He's a special talent who drives everybody with them, and he's just an amazing person, really.
"He's always been a match-winner and a leader. He's not your typical captain, but he leads through the way he speaks, through his actions and the way he trains, he's the hardest worker in our group.
"The freak catch he took in 2015 Ashes [a one-handed grab off an Adam Voges edge], and the catch he took on the boundary against South Africa early in the World Cup [a one-handed take to dismiss Andile Phehlukwayo] - some people think that's a fluke, but he actually practices that in training.
"The concentration and determination he had at the end there, that's what sets him apart from everybody else."
Stokes' match-winning efforts at Headingley have also seen him rise to career-high positions in the ICC Test rankings among both batsmen and all-rounders.
The 28-year-old is now 13th in the batting standings, a climb of 13 places, while he has moved up two spots to second in the all-rounders category, behind West Indies captain Jason Holder.
Wood joined Stokes at the crease in the nerve-shredding World Cup final at a spellbound Lord's last month, so what would the advice have been for Jack Leach?
"Stokes would have just told him not to get out!" he added. "When I got out there [in the World Cup final] he said that he was going to take five, you take one, always back up because we'll look for two at times.
"Even at times when I was backing him up and I'd be halfway down the pitch, he'd send me back if it was only one. Leachy played his part just as much as Stokesy.
"I didn't manage to keep my wicket, but for someone like Leachy with his glasses on to hold his end of the bargain up, it was perfect."
Watch day one of the fourth Ashes Test live on Sky Sports The Ashes and Sky Sports Main Event from 10am on Wednesday, September 4.
You can also follow over-by-over commentary and in-play clips on our rolling blog on skysports.com and the Sky Sports app.
