Stokes lauded as “impressive” and “outstanding” leader by ex-England captains

Ben Stokes has made an excellent start to life as England Test captain, leading them to victory over New Zealand in his first series in charge

Former England captains Michael Atherton, Nasser Hussain and Michael Vaughan have all been very impressed by Ben Stokes ‘ leadership in his first Test series in charge.

After taking over a side that had won just one of their last 17 Test matches under previous skipper Joe Root, Stokes has meshed well with new Test coach Brendon McCullum and led England to a series victory over New Zealand in scintillating fashion.

And Atherton believes Stokes is a natural leader, telling Sky Sports : “Ben Stokes had done very little captaincy otherwise so you can’t say that he is somebody who has had massive experience in leadership but I just think he has got it.

“I think it is a born, innate thing with some people. He is a winner and wants to win, he has instilled a positive mindset and mentality into an England team that had its struggles for a year or two.

“If you marry that with the instinct and feel for the game he has, then you have got somebody who can lead the side. I think he has made an outstanding start.”

Hussain, meanwhile, feels Stokes has been “incredibly impressive” so far. “It is the best job in English cricket and it also, could be, the hardest job in English cricket especially when you have won one of your last 17 Test matches,” he said.

“Here is a man who had only captained one red-ball game before but here is a man who I think has been incredibly impressive as a captain in three matches. This man’s body language and his tactical nous in these three games have been outstanding.

“What I have seen, tactically, here is a bloke that completely understands the game and completely gets captaincy.” Vaughan also praised Stokes for “doing things slightly out of the box” and finding success.

“I’m just seeing things with Ben Stokes’ captaincy we haven’t seen in a long time,” he told BBC Test Match Special. “He is doing things slightly out of the box and it is working. It is nice to see.”