England’s Test captain Ben Stokes is confident of his team’s future after white-washing West Indies 3-0 in a three-match Test series.
England dominated the Caribbean side as they recorded a 10-wicket win in the third and final Test at Edgbaston with their skipper, Stokes, sealing the win with a 24-ball half-century, the fastest for England in Test history.
While England chased the 82-run target in just 7.2 overs, their victory was set up by Mark Wood’s remarkable spell where he bagged his fifth five-wicket haul for the team.
“I think that’s one of the best reverse swing performances I’ve seen in a long time,” Stokes said in praise of his fast bowler. “It was just awesome to see and I think there was almost a bit of relief there because he'd beaten the bat so many times in the two games that he’d played and definitely didn't get the rewards that he deserved.”
England play Australia in Ashes in 18 months and they are focused on building their bowling attack as James Anderson retired this summer. Having a high pace and the use of reverse swing is crucial for success Down Under and England saw that during this series.
“I think it shows how important pace is,” Stokes said of whether England have built an attack that can succeed overseas. “You also need skill to go with that…[but] having different types of options in your armoury in a bowling attack is obviously key, especially when it's flat, when it's not really offering you much in the air or off the wicket
“Having Woody and Gus [Atkinson] in this game in particular I think was very good and obviously having those two operate together is very, very exciting for the future of England.”
Atkinson made his England debut this summer and was named as Player of the Series after taking 22 wickets in three matches. Along with Jamie Smith also impressed in his first appearances for England and Stokes had nothing but high praise for both.
“They’ve both been absolutely phenomenal,” Stokes said. “I think they’ve both been absolutely phenomenal, and have performed above, I don’t know, what people were expecting them to do. Certainly not what we expected – that’s why we selected them and gave them the opportunity. Jamie obviously has put some unbelievable performances in with the bat but behind the stumps as well he’s been class.
“He seems to have everything as a player – he’s got the power game, he’s got the technique to get him through any tricky periods like we’ve seen on a couple of occasions. He’s a proper player.”
- Ben Stokes
