Stokes takes his game to a new level when all the pressure is on: Ollie Pope

When Ben Stokes started out as a Test cricketer in 2013, no one really believed that he would go on to become one of the most defining cricketers of the generation. Sure, he had flashes of brilliance, but the sheer lack of discipline left him vulnerable in a lot of situations - until everything changed in a flash.

Since 2019, it is hard to think of a cricketer who has changed the sport in more ways than Ben Stokes. Be it a defining performance to lead England to their first-ever World Cup title in 2019 to some of the greatest Test innings ever played, Stokes has been at the center of the sport’s renaissance in England. 

As the skipper of England’s Test side, he, alongside coach Brendon McCullum, has changed the very definition of Test cricket, bazballing a new era where the attack has become the primary defense mechanism. It has yielded England the results hitherto unimaginable. 

As Stokes enters the elite club of 100 Test matches in Rajkot, his vice-captain Ollie Pope is full of admiration for the way the cricketer has been the crisis man for England and how he added new meaning to their sporting culture.

"It's unbelievable. For anyone to play 100 tests is an unbelievable experience. And think he's obviously had his highs and his lows in his career, but what he's done since he's been captain has been amazing and there are so many sorts of special moments that you can look back on his career and think, Jesus, the guy has sort of probably changed the game a lot in a lot of respects, and he just got away of bringing out the very best of him when it means the most to the team," Pope said in a press interaction on Tuesday.

“And just remember thinking, he obviously takes it to a new level when all the pressure is on. And I think the amount of times he's done that over his career, with 99 Tests so far, is unbelievable. So many unbelievable memories, and hopefully, he can have 100 more. It's been great to watch and great to be a part of. Hopefully, there are many more successes."

As the series is locked at 1-1 following India’s win in Visakhapatnam, England are coming off from a family break in Abu Dhabi, recharging themselves ahead of the Rajkot Test. Pope stated that it has been a very relaxing break for them - especially reuniting with families and kids. 

"Yes, good, relaxing break. Think obviously, when you get a gap between Test matches, you often just try and chill out, get away from cricket for a few days and that's exactly what we did. I think it is nice to have families over; a lot of the guys have young kids, so I think it's nice to reunite with them midway through our tour. It's a nice way just to refresh. The guys are energized coming into these last three Tests.

"The mood is really good. It always feels pretty good. We've loved every bit of this tour so far. Two competitive games of cricket that have been awesome to play in. But it was a nicely timed break to recharge the batteries. Like I said, the mood is really good and there's a lot of energy in the group,” the England vice-captain, who scored a valiant 196 in Hyderabad to script a famous victory for England, stated.