15 June 2023 , 17:00
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Ben Stokes can lead his Ashes rock stars to glory this summer having convinced them they are even better than they think they are.
Of course they are good enough to have won 11 out of 13 matches under Stokes in the last year, but until they were led by his relentless positivity their own self doubt was holding them back.
It isn’t quite in the realms of former England coach David Lloyd, who upon being told that hapless batter Alan Mullally didn’t know who he was after being felled by a bouncer, said: “Well, tell him he’s Brian Lara and get him back out there!”
Stokes has filled his players with belief and enthusiasm for the job of scoring runs or taking wickets and fans can expect it to all come pouring out over the next seven weeks.
“I think what we have done over the last year is show how we want to play,” said Stokes. “We found a way to get the best out of the team and the individuals.
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“Just making the guys in the dressing room believe that they are incredible players rather than anything else and making them believe in themselves a lot more than what they probably did before that.
"I remember seeing comments from Popey, that I thought he was better than he thought. Being someone who has been able to get that out of another person, and hearing them say that publicly does make you feel good.
“It's something I want to achieve as England captain, to make people realise they are very, very good and that you can play cricket with a smile on your face.
“That was the biggest thing that I wanted to try and do. To keep that trust factor between the relationship that we had before and make them believe that they were better than what they actually thought and hopefully I’ve done that.”
England captain Ben Stokes speaks ahead of the first test against AustraliaStokes has a squad of players who trust him implicitly and who are ready to run through a brick wall for him, because they know he would do the same, and has done so many times in his career.
They know that he is honest and open with them and won’t hide away from difficult conversations when they are needed.
But those moments are rare, because he is not interested in digging players out when things go wrong, only building them up so that things go right.
And the selection of Moeen Ali is the perfect example of that, and why the spinner said he would only have returned for Stokes.
“A player like Mo who I have seen put in some unbelievable match winning performances, albeit a long time ago, was something I couldn’t look past,” said Stokes.
Stokes admits it was heart over head with his decision to recall Moeen Ali“That was a stomach and a heart feeling, rather than my brain. Generally I have stuck with my heart and my gut throughout my captaincy so far.
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“Moeen Ali is going to come in here and I am looking at what he can offer on his best days, and not worrying about anything else.”
And that explains the decision to opt for Stuart Broad ahead of Mark Wood too and give him the chance to resume his battle with David Warner.
“I’d be lying if I said it didn’t have an impact,” admitted Stokes. “It’s just one of those things. “Broady has been an unbelievable performer over many years. I’m very happy with the team we’ve ended up picking. We are really excited to get going, it’s been a long time coming.”