Playing down the criticism on the Indian pitch conditions, big-hitting England all-rounder Ben Stokes has said that Test players should be capable enough to adapt in all kinds of conditions. Ahead of the day/night Test starting on Wednesday, Stokes wondered how the newly-refurbished Motera Stadium would behave but at the same time, stressed that veteran players will be able to deal with whatever they are faced with.
In his column for “Daily Mirror”, Ben Stokes wrote: “The thing about being a Test batsman is that you need to be able to handle all types of conditions. India is one of the places where it is a lot tougher for overseas batsmen to come and be successful, but then so too is England. And that is part of the game, the challenges and why we love it.”
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The turning tracks in India became a talking point during the ongoing Test series when some former England players such as Michael Vaughan asked whether such strips were ideal for Test cricket. The series is currently leveled at 1-1 after India’s brilliant 317-run triumph in the second Test in Chennai. Stokes’ bowling quota of just two overs in that game raised a few eyebrows.
A lot is at stake for both the teams in the Test series as the World Test Championship final spot is still up for grabs. While India needs to win one and draw another to make it, England will have to emerge victorious in both the remaining games. Ben Stokes said nobody has the slightest clue how the track would behave.
Describing the same, the all-rounder said, “Generally around the world whenever these pink ball games are played there is always a period when the ball starts doing a bit under lights and it brings the seamers right into the game. For us out here that will be massive. We’ve got a good spin department, but hopefully, with conditions that suit, we’ve certainly got a seam department to back them up strongly.”
The outcome of the first two Tests was pretty much decided by the team batting first and posting a massive total. If it was England in the first Test, India did the same in the second. Stokes acknowledged the “scoreboard pressure”.
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“Scoreboard pressure in Test cricket is probably at its most prominent in the sub-continent, and plays a massive part in trying to win the game. The good thing is we know what it takes to win out here, so it is about putting that into practice once more, learning what we can from the second Test and delivering this week,” he wrote.
