IND vs ENG, 1st Test: Win Will Be Perfect Way To Round Off Joe Root’s “Special” Test, Says Ben Stokes | Cricket News

Joe Root is among the greatest batsman on the planet, an unimaginable athlete and above all an inspirational captain, is how England vice-captain Ben Stokes described his skipper on the momentous event of his a hundredth Test match. Insisting that he was privileged to have handed over Root his 100th Test cap, Stokes stated a winning start to the four-Test series can be an ideal present for Root.

“I’ll certainly be doing whatever I can with bat, ball and in the field over the next five days to try and secure the win that we all desperately want in the first Test against India,” he stated.

“It would be the perfect way to round off a very special few days for Joe (Root).”

Root continued his purple sizzling kind and hit a century towards India on his a hundredth Test right here on Friday.

“What a proud thrill it was to be asked to present our captain Joe Root with his 100th cap in a team gathering before the game. These are special moments that you carry with you through your career and it was great to be able to mark the moment with a few heartfelt words,” Stokes wrote in a column for the Guardian.

“For most people, Joe is an incredible athlete, one of the very best batsmen the game has seen, and an inspirational captain and leader.

“But for some he’s additionally simply Joe who’s a form and considerate particular person and a right down to earth lad from Sheffield who occurs to be actually good at cricket,” he added.

Describing Root’s down-to-earth, friendly behaviour further, Stokes cited an example when the English skipper stood by his side during a low phase in his life after being involved in a brawl outside a night club in Bristol.

“There was no higher instance of this for me than just a few years in the past once I was going via a nicely documented interval in my life that was fairly robust. But though he had a lot on his plate as England captain and with an Ashes tour to play in, not as soon as did he distance himself from me, fairly the other,” he said.

“At these instances, he wasn’t my captain, he was my pal. It was a time once I did not have an enormous quantity of help from too many individuals, however Joe had my again so I’ll at all times maintain him within the highest esteem with the way in which he dealt with that scenario.”

Stokes was referring to his involvement in the nightclub brawl in Bristol in September 2017 in the middle of an ODI series against the West Indies.

That incident led to the all-rounder missing the 2017-18 Ashes and the second Test match against India due to subsequent trial. He also lost his apparel sponsorship with New Balance.

“And that wasn’t simply publicly within the media, however in personal too. He was going via his personal robust time down in Australia however he stayed in fixed contact and that meant an enormous quantity to me,” Stokes said referring to Root’s support.

“It is why in conditions the place he wants me, I’ll do something I can for him. If individuals surprise why I’d run via a brick wall for him, it’s due to this.”

Stokes said he was proud to be Root’s deputy as they make a good team.

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“I could not be extra proud to be his vice-captain, a place that regarded a great distance off not too way back, however even on this subject his loyalty in direction of me has by no means wavered,” he said.

“I wish to suppose we make a great crew and we now have completely different expertise that may hopefully work nicely to assist the crew.”