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'Stokes is becoming the best all-rounder England's ever had'

July 23, 2020 10:32 IST

'It's hard to say how good he is because it's hard to find the words.'

IMAGE: 'It's hard to say how good Ben Stokes is because it's hard to find the words.' Photograph: Michael Steele/Getty Images

Pacer James Anderson believes that teammate Ben Stokes is on course to become the best all-rounder that England has ever had in their cricketing history.

His remark comes as Stokes became the number one all-rounder in the world, dethroning Windies' skipper Jason Holder from the top spot.

 

"He's certainly the best allrounder I've ever played with and he's becoming the best all-rounder that England's ever had. There's no reason why he can't go on to become even better. With the bat, he's averaging in the 40s, with the ball he's below 30, and he's taking spectacular catches. It's just incredible that we've got him on our team and he's great to watch," ESPNCricinfo quoted Anderson as saying.

"It's hard to say how good he is because it's hard to find the words. Joe (Root) said the other day we were in the presence of greatness and he's spot on. He gets into any team as a batsman, while his bowling gets better and better each time he goes out there. It's just amazing to have that talent in our team, and to be able to watch it first-hand as well was amazing," he added.

In the second Test against Windies, Stokes was named as Man of the Match. For England, the second Test win was laid on Stokes' immense all-round haul of 254 runs and three wickets, including the key wicket of Jermaine Blackwood on the stroke of tea on the final day of the match.

The left-handed batsman had played a knock of 176 in the first innings, while in the second, he scored a quickfire 78 not out from just 57 balls. His superlative batting performances took Stokes up to the number three spot in the ICC Test batsmen rankings.

Currently, the series between England and West Indies is levelled at 1-1.

The third and final Test will be played at Manchester from Friday, July 24.

 

Source: ANI