Ben Stokes: One of county cricket's brightest talents
Jo Harman of Cricket Chin Music and All Out Cricket magazine spoke to Durham allrounder Ben Stokes about his early season exploits which have left many tipping the 19-year-old for an imminent England call-up.
Was your onslaught against Hampshire’s Liam Dawson in which you hit five consecutive sixes in one over premeditated?
I realised we were going to declare at some stage and I was hitting it well so as soon as I got to my hundred, I thought ‘why stop here?’ and just kept on going. I probably started thinking about hitting six sixes in the over after the third one but Dawson bowled the sixth ball pretty well – he bowled a quick one down the legside, there wasn’t much I could do with it and I could only get it away for a single. I’ve always hit sixes growing up. That’s just my game; I try and hit boundaries rather than go in there and block it out. Durham have always encouraged me to play aggressively and to stick to my natural game.
You took a career-best haul of 6-68 in the same match. Do you see yourself as a genuine allrounder?
I definitely think that batting is always going to be my stronger suit but I want to develop my bowling and be somebody who can be relied upon to bowl 20 overs in a day. It was just one of those days for me. I bowled a lot of bad balls but I got a bit of movement and the deliveries I took my wickets with were decent balls. I still bowled too many boundary balls and that’s something I need to work on. Durham want me to support the big names like Harmison, Claydon and Plunkett, bowl tight lines and hit the top of off stump.
After that performance Durham coach Geoff Cook said you’ve been working hard to improve your technique. What have you been working on?
I’ve been working hard over the winter to improve my technique against the quicks; reducing my back-foot movements and keeping my hands as still as possible before the ball is bowled so that when I face a 95mph bowler, I have a bit more time to deal with the pace. Obviously I don’t face many bowlers of that speed in county cricket but I try and make training harder than the actual games so I’m ready for whatever challenge is thrown at me in a match situation. It helps me prepare to play at the highest possible level.
Your dad Ged played rugby league for New Zealand. Did you ever think about following in his footsteps?
I left New Zealand at the age of 12 and used to play rugby until I was about 15. I had to decide between cricket and rugby but it wasn’t a tough choice really. My dad does his best to keep my feet on the ground and gives me the odd nudge now and again to tell me not to look too far ahead. It helps that he’s ‘been there and done that’; he’s all about professionalism and hopefully some of that has rubbed off on me.
You spent some time with the England Performance Programme in Australia over the winter. Did witnessing the Ashes first-hand whet your appetite for the future?
It was amazing to be involved in something like that. We went to watch the first day of the Test at Perth and had a few nets against some of their bowlers. The Performance Programme is a great experience in teaching young players what they need to do to break into the Test side, particularly in terms of training and the physical side of things, and it gives you a taste of what it would be like to be in the team.
Have you set yourself any targets for the season? An ODI call-up, for example?
I would be delighted to be included in the one-day international side but I’m not getting ahead of myself. It’s all about the now and just putting in a good season for Durham. A batter always has the 1,000 first-class runs in mind and if I can pick up 20 or 30 wickets on top of that I’ll consider it a good season.
For more from Ben Stokes and his Durham teammate Graham Onions, check out the June issue of All Out Cricket magazine.
