Michael Atherton has described it as difficult to come out of the pressure of the crushing defeat given to England by the Indian team at Edgbaston and to lead the team.
Michael Atherton: Former England cricketer and commentator Michael Atherton believes that for England captain Ben Stokes, handling his team before the Lord’s Test against the Indian team, and preparing the team for the Test match against India, is going to prove to be the toughest challenge of his captaincy career so far.
Table of Contents
There will be a test of mental and physical pressure: Michael Atherton
Michael wrote in his column in The Times- “In the last three years since Ben Stokes became the captain of England, he has hardly faced a bigger challenge than he will have to face in the next two days. When he prepares his team for the third Test at Lord’s. This will be a tremendous test of his leadership skills and his mental and physical fortitude.”
In the current series under the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy being played in England, the host team had to face a crushing defeat of 336 runs at the hands of India in the Edgbaston Test. This has increased the pressure on England.
Before the start of the series, the focus of the English media was mainly on the Ashes, and many former players considered the series against India as mere preparation for the Australia series. However, after the crushing defeat at Edgbaston, the picture ahead has completely changed.
The team will have to prepare
Before the Lord’s Test, Atherton described the next two days as very important for England and said, “Ben Stokes will have to use these days properly to prepare his team mentally.” He also discussed Stokes’ past experiences.
When Stokes isolated himself from the world for three days after the Leeds Test, so that he could prepare mentally. Atherton said, “Now Stokes needs those same three days to unite his team.”
Atherton further gave his advice and said, “I will not change the batting order, but I would definitely like to make some changes in the fast bowling order. I will include Jofra Archer and Gus Atkinson in the team in place of Josh Tongue and Brydon Carse.”
