Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (UK), Rishi Sunak, heaped praises on the country's Test captain Ben Stokes. He called him an inspirational leader and showered praises on him for motivating others around him and leading by his own example on the cricket field. Even since Stokes has taken over as the Test captain, England's fortunes in the game's longest format has revived as the Three Lions have played an aggressive brand of cricket called the 'Bazball'. While results had been coming for England with this fearless style of cricket, perhaps for the first time during his stint Stokes finds himself under a little bit of pressure being 0-1 down in the Ashes with the team not in a very good position in the second Test match at the Lord's Cricket Ground in London.
However, the UK PM has observed that the England team has been there for and believe in each other. In addition, Sunak reckons that the team's 'Bazball' approach will make for a good case study. The politician made this remark while speaking to the BBC Test Match Special.
"In Ben Stokes we have an inspirational leader who can motivate those around him and lead by example on the field. I don't KNOW what is happening behind the scenes to build that trust, which is what it comes down to, but they believe in each other and are sticking with it, " PM Sunak said.
"Last year was the most extraordinary year of cricket. How could you not fall in love with that cricket? The stats speak for themselves. You've got to give it to the team for what they have done, especially as it is essentially the same group of players with a different approach to leadership. It may make for an interesting case study," he added.
The second Test match stands at a thrilling turn with England 114/4 at Stumps on Day 4, needing 371 to win. Ben Duckett (50*) and Ben Stokes (29*) will resume the English batting on the final day of the Test match on Sunday (July 2).