Ashes 2019 | Ben Stokes is public property now, he has to get used to that, says Ian Botham

08/28/2019

Ian Botham has said that England’s Ashes hero Ben Stokes will be public property to the British after single-handedly taking the team to a victory in the third Test at Headingley. Stokes’ unbeaten 135 helped the hosts chase down 359 in dramatic fashion and level the five-match series 1-1.

When Stokes smashed Pat Cummins through the offside for a boundary to clinch the win, it evoked memories of Botham’s famous unbeaten century at the same venue almost 40 years ago – an equally unlikely triumph that made Botham an Ashes hero for the ages. So, the former all-rounder was speaking from experience when he said that Stokes’ life was about to take a complete change overnight.

"It changed my life overnight. I think Ben's life will be the same. He will have no private life. He has to get used to that and so do the family. He is public property but it is a great place to be in for the long term. It will set him up for life. He will reap the rewards which he richly deserves and he is now a world box-office attraction," Botham told the Daily Telegraph.

The senior has now tagged his junior the ‘Special One’ and is extremely delighted that Stokes takes Test cricket seriously.

"He will play all the T20 leagues but the refreshing thing about it all is he wants to play test cricket and do well in it. That is the ultimate test. Five-day games ebb and flow. We were bowled out for 67 (in the first innings of the third test) and in any other format, it’ll be all over. Test cricket gives you room for something extraordinary to happen, and it happened,” he said.

“It might take 48 hours to sink in, and he’ll think, I can do it, and I will do it again’. He’s got wood on Australia and I tell you, there’s no better feeling as an England cricketer," Botham added.

The fourth Test of the Ashes begins at Old Trafford on September 4.