"He's done a great job for Australia" - Ben Stokes baffled by criticism over Pat Cummins' captaincy
England captain Ben Stokes has thrown his weight behind Australian counterpart Pat Cummins despite criticism around the latter's captaincy. Stokes reckons Cummins has done an outstanding job and that criticism surrounding the Aussie skipper seems baseless.
Cummins' captaincy during the fourth Ashes Test at Old Trafford in Manchester, which ended in a rain-affected draw, invited a backlash. The 30-year-old's field placings and his inability to stem the flow of runs or pick wickets didn't go down well with the former Aussie cricketers.
The visitors went on to concede 592 runs in the first innings, with Cummins conceding 129 runs in his 23 overs and picking up just one wicket. They trailed by 61 runs with just five wickets left in their second innings when rain forced the match to be drawn.
Speaking at a press conference, Ben Stokes stated that it was baseless to call for Pat Cummins to step down. As quoted by Perth Now, the all-rounder said:
"I'm not sure why someone would say he should give it up. I think he's done a great job for Australia. I don't know who has made those comments but I think he's done a great job for Australian cricket, taking over at the time he did.
"It's probably a little bit unwarranted from whoever said that, and that's coming from an Englishman to an Australian."
Cummins is yet to lose a home Test as a captain, but has suffered defeats in Sri Lanka, India, and England. He will hope to guide the Aussies to a series win on English soil by avoiding defeat in the final Test.
"It was emotionless, very bizarre" - Ben Stokes recalls Day 5 of Manchester Test
Ben Stokes admitted that England were in a helpless situation on Day 5 of the Manchester Test as weather spoiled their chances of levelling the five-Test series. He added:
"The game petered out the way it did because of the weather and you look back and think 'Do you wish we had either got beat or we had played and Australia had managed to pull off a draw?'
"[Not being able to do anything] is a very strange place to be in. You could see that from both sides shaking the umpires' hands at the end. It was emotionless, very bizarre."
England have failed to regain the Ashes urn following the draw in Manchester. However, they can still deny Australia their first series win on English soil since 2001 by winning the final Test, which begins on Thursday, July 27.