"He's just got this switch inside him which is never dead" - Brad Haddin hails Ben Stokes for fighting hundred at Lord's
Former Australian wicketkeeper Brad Haddin has heaped praise on England captain Ben Stokes for his incredible effort on Day 5 of the Ashes 2023 Test at Lord's on Sunday. Stokes scored as many as 155 runs, but it was still not enough for his team to get over the line.
Nevertheless, Haddin hailed the all-rounder for his fighting spirit and for giving Australia the scare that it could be a repeat of what happened in Ashes 2019 at Headingley.
Speaking on the Willow Talk Podcast, here's what Brad Haddin had to say about Ben Stokes:
"Well he (Stokes) is a competitive beast, isn't he? He's just got this switch inside him which is never dead.
"The way he changed from first to fifth gear and all of a sudden put England in a position where they felt they could win the game is just extraordinary. He is just a competitor, he does not want to lose."
While Brad Haddin congratulated Stokes on a brilliant knock, he always believed that Australia were not going to lose the game. Explaining this, he added:
"I thought he was always going to give a chance, but I got nervous when we started putting it down. Yes, he gave the Aussies a bit of a scare and that would have been a few memories starting to come back from Headingley.
"But I didn't feel we were going to lose this one. Headingley was just one of those days where it felt like we were not going to get the momentum back no matter what."
Crowd brought a bit of spice into Ashes: Brad Haddin
Brad Haddin was thrilled to see the Lord's crowd get involved and add to the drama of the Ashes 2023 Test on Day 5. They certainly didn't seem to like Australia not withdrawing their appeal for Jonny Bairstow's dismissal. However, the visitors still ended up winning and Haddin feels it would boost their morale.
On this, he stated:
"We spoke about the theatre involved in an Ashes series and we are getting our money's worth. That was unbelievable cricket from both sides. The crowd got involved which brought a bit of spice into the game. But it does not get any better than that for the Australians."
Australia have all the momentum going into the third Test to be played at Headingley, Leeds, from Thursday, July 6.