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Ben Stokes, the captain of the England Test team, spoke to the media about apologising to his teammates for his on-field outburst during the second Test of the three-match series against Pakistan in Multan. After the hosts managed to defeat England by 152 runs at the Multan Cricket Stadium on day four, to level the series 1-1 with one Test remaining, Ben Stokes admitted to have let his emotions get the best of him for the first-time in his captaincy tenure.
Notably, the on-field outburst from Ben Stokes happened during Pakistan’s second innings on day three of the Test when Jamie Smith and Joe Root dropped chances within a space of three deliveries. It led to the England captain showing anguish and frustration at his fielders as the hosts continued to build on their lead, to set up a tough target for the visitors in their second innings on a pitch wearing down further with each passing over at the Multan Cricket Stadium.
It's the first time in my captaincy that I have let my emotions with the (way the) game was unfolding : Ben Stokes
Pakistan managed to put together a formidable target of 297 runs for England, which the visitors were nowhere near chasing down after Nouman Ali picked up seven second innings wickets, to help bundle them out for just 144 runs. In his post-match interview with Sky Sports analysts Ian Ward and Nasser Hussain, the England Test captain, Ben Stokes, remarked, “'It's the first time in my captaincy that I have let my emotions with the (way the) game was unfolding show in my body language.”
Watch the video of Ben Stokes revealing about his apology to England teammates:
“I owned up to that and I am very annoyed at myself for letting that out. It's something that I don't want to do or be seen to be doing. I apologised and said it was "poor old me" coming out, tired grumpy old man last night. You won't see that happening again,” Ben Stokes further remarked. With the second Test ending in a Pakistan win, England will be heading to the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, aiming to seal their second straight Test series victory against the hosts in their own conditions from October 24 onwards.
