Courtesy: X
England Test skipper Ben Stokes praised Gus Atkinson for his remarkable performance in the English summer so far. The star all-rounder believes that Atkinson has made a bigger impact than anyone else in the ongoing Test season for England. Atkinson had a memorable Test debut for England where he took 12 wickets in his debut Test against West Indies at Lord's. He won player of the series in his maiden Test series against West Indies, taking 22 wickets in three matches.
Apart from his bowling, Gus Atkinson also excelled in batting, register a hundred to his name apart from taking five wickets in the same match against Sri Lanka at Lord's. Ben Stokes heaped praise Atkinson’s all-round skills while looking forward to seeing him have a great Test career for England.
"He has been amazing. I earmarked him as someone I thought could be successful at Test cricket on the India tour even though he didn't play a game. I watched him train for basically two months which is a hard thing to do as a player. He bowls at a high pace, he is a very skillful bowler and he has shown he has got more than just running in and bowling it fast," Ben Stokes was quoted as saying by NDTV Sports.
Ben Stokes also spoke about the potential of Gus Atkinson, which he had realised early in his Test career, and said, "Seeing him bat before, I knew he had potential, and that 100 he got at Lord's, to say I wasn't surprised is a bit of an overstatement, but I have always known he has talent with the bat. He has shown the world and himself what he is capable of with bat in his hand. For your first summer in Test cricket, I can't remember there being a bigger impact."
Winning six Test matches in one summer is no mean feat: Ben Stokes
England has had a great outing in Test cricket in the last couple of months. The Three Lions registered a 3-0 clean sweep against West Indies, and have already won the three-match Test series against Sri Lanka with one match to go. Ben Stokes believes that winning six matches in one summer is a big achievement. The English Test skipper is also hopeful to win the third and final Test against Sri Lanka at The Oval starting from September 6.
"It would be great to finish off the summer with another win and say we have won all six games we have had this summer. A summer of Test cricket is hard, six games is a lot. We feel like we have been pretty compact and there hasn't been too much break between the games," Ben Stokes said.
"Winning six Test matches in one summer is no mean feat, so it would be great to finish off the summer in the last match against Sri Lanka with a win," England’s Test skipper concluded.
