Ben Stokes has been assured by Rob Key that he will have a big say in the appointment of England’s new Test coach. Photo / Getty Images
Ben Stokes has been assured by Rob Key that he will have a big say in the appointment of England’s new Test coach. Photo / Getty Images
Ben Stokes will use a therapist to help him cope with the demands of the England cricket team captaincy and is adamant he can avoid another episode of burnout.
England had to do without Stokes for almost six months last year when he took a break for mental health reasons caused by a combination of non-stop cricket, grief over his father's death and the stress of a court case.
He has now stepped into the most pressurised job in English cricket as Test captain, picking up a team with one win in 17 Tests and five series defeats in a row (India are 2-1 with one to play in the series held over from last summer).
Adding the captaincy to his workload has increased fears he could suffer burnout again although he believes his past off-field problems will help cope with the extra scrutiny of his new job.
Stokes is still seeing a therapist, independent from the England & Wales Cricket Board, who helped him last year and will urge his players to seek help if they need it too.
"I have been a massive advocate for this area since I took my break and I will continue to do that. I know how important it is not just for our players but the people who tour around with us. They do the exact same stuff day in day out that we do. But I have that experience to talk to anybody, whoever they may be, if they feel like they need to. The hardest thing to do in the first place is to talk to somebody," he said.
"I know the pressures being England captain can bring. This is something [former captain] Joe [Root] has told me: make sure you have the people around you to take as much of the pressure off you as possible. I made that clear to Rob [Key, England managing director]. There's been plenty of experiences that I could have felt chew me up, swallow me up and that's me done. I never let that happen. I guess I'm too stubborn to let anything get too on top of me."
Stokes will drop down the order to No 6, the traditional batting place for an all-rounder, to give him more time to switch off from captaincy in the field but will have a hands-on role in selecting the squad for the first Test and be consulted in the recruitment of the Test coach.
Speaking for the first time since he was appointed last week, Stokes said he wants "selfless" cricketers in his team and this is a new beginning for all.
"Winning one game in 17 is nowhere near good enough for the people we have in our team. Everyone needs to be realistic with that. What we can do is say there's only one way to go from here, which is up. I understand things don't happen overnight, I can't expect it to just click and all of a sudden we're No1 in a year's time but I'm very excited about the role I've got to play in hopefully making the England Test team great again, it's a big goal of mine, really looking forward to it.
Analysis: What Stokes said and what he meant on key topics
How will he handle the pressure of the job?
What he said: "I know the pressures being England captain can bring. This is something Joe has told me: make sure you have the people around you to take as much of the pressure off you as possible. There's stuff that I want to make sure I'm involved in, but there's also stuff I don't feel like I'll need to be."
What he means: He recognises he needs a coach who can take a hands-on role in running the team, more so than Trevor Bayliss and Chris Silverwood, who deferred to the captain. Stokes will cope if he has a coach who can pull up players but also has an attention to detail like Duncan Fletcher and Andy Flower. They combined toughness with demanding a huge amount from the players but were meticulous planners who took the load off the captain, allowing Michael Vaughan and Andrew Strauss to get on with the job on the field. He will continue to use a therapist to help recognise the triggers that caused his mental breakdown and will miss the white ball ODI series until the next 50-over World Cup. England should block his IPL participation next year and consider taking him out of the side for the World T20 in an attempt to keep him fresh.
What will a Ben Stokes England look like?
What he said: "I want everybody to be selfless in the decisions they make and make sure every decision they make is with the intention of winning the game for England. Personal performances, individual performances have never been at the top of my priority list. I'm very excited about the role I've got to play in hopefully making the England Test team great again."
What he means: No whining and total buy-in to the team cause, instead of the blame game that crept in in Australia. He will not shy from confrontation either. Forget the Trumpism about making England great again, he knows that is a long way off, if even achievable. Stokes confirmed he will move to six in the order believing it his natural role, which begs the question of whether he thinks three or four is the best position for Root. Stokes' move means Jonny Bairstow could be back as keeper-batsman at seven giving younger players like Ollie Pope and Dan Lawrence another chance to grab one of the positions in the side either at five or three/four depending on Root. Stokes confirmed Broad and Anderson are once again first choice. Expect a call up for fast bowler Brydon Carse, Stokes' Durham team-mate, for the first Test against New Zealand. Stokes took Saqib Mahmood under his wing in West Indies and sees him as a big part of future plans.
Saqib Mahmood could become a key player under Ben Stokes. Photo / Getty Images
What he said: "That's something I'm going to have to really focus on. I've got great senior players around me in the team already, it would be stupid and naive of me not to include them in decisions out on the field especially but I've always gone with my gut, it's served me quite well."
What he means: He will lean on Root and name-checked Jos Buttler. Stokes would like to have him back but Buttler has probably moved away from Test cricket now. Someone will have to yank the ball out of his hand if Stokes is bowling himself into the ground and help him be better at DRS reviews than Root. While Stokes was patient and spoke well in two hours of media interviews on Tuesday, he will at some point lose his cool with that side of the job, especially in defeat. The new coach will have to step up and talk with authority to the media and tell Stokes when it is time to step back. It was revealed that he described Key as a director of cricket who is "there for the players". It suggests the dressing room thought Ashley Giles agreed to too many demands put on him from above by the ECB. Some will say Giles was too easy on the players and that was the problem but if Stokes listens and respects Key it is a good start. Paul Collingwood has applied for the white-ball head coach's role but perhaps he is better suited to a job with the Test team (not head coach) because he knows how to handle Stokes better than anyone else in England's set-up.
Paul Collingwood could remain part of the England coaching staff. Photo / Getty Images
What will be his style of captaincy?
What he said: "I will be making sure that other players' voices feel like they're valued, I don't just want it to be Ben's in charge now, he's the only one making any type of decision. Back then [after Bristol], I'd have never pictured sitting at a table speaking as England captain. I've always tried to see every experience, be they good or bad, they're always something to learn from."
What he means: Unconventional. Stokes wore tracksuit bottoms and training top for his first media call as captain not suit and tie and spoke to the media in a bracing wind at Durham's Riverside ground - not Lord's - so he could train afterwards.
Ben Stokes met the media at The Riverside. Photo / Getty Images
He has learned from his ups and downs and believes he has seen enough in life to cope with the captaincy and extra scrutiny. We will see. The presence of five tv crews was something new for Stokes on Tuesday, a sign of what he has taken on, and he will now have every social media post and behaviour examined for slip ups. He was sent home from an A tour as a youngster, had his court case and various on field bust ups, any of which would be huge issues now as captain. Stokes does not care what people outside the group think of him but he will have to be well advised on what to say and when to say it. He will be bold in decision making but collegiate. Stokes will have the tough conversations - he told Broad he was not playing when he dropped him for a Test against West Indies as stand in captain in 2020. On the field, a Stokes team will go for a target like the one set by New Zealand at Lord's last summer that Root turned down. The tactical side is the big step into the unknown because he has only captained one first-class match - the Test against West Indies. One thing is for sure, the Stokes captaincy is going to be essential viewing for good or bad.
